At least four people were killed in fresh violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur on Tuesday, including two individuals shot by police, officials said, marking a sharp escalation after months of relative calm.
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According to authorities, two children from the predominantly Hindu Meitei community were killed when a bomb exploded inside a house in the Meitei-majority Bishnupur district.
Later in the day, police opened fire to disperse a crowd that stormed a security forces camp, killing two people, State Interior Minister Govindas Konthoujam confirmed.
The latest unrest comes amid longstanding ethnic tensions between Manipur’s dominant Meitei community and the mainly Christian Kuki tribes. Violence first erupted in May 2023 over disputes related to economic benefits and job quotas.
Since then, the conflict has claimed around 260 lives and displaced more than 60,000 people.
Members of the Meitei community alleged that Kuki militants were behind the bomb attack that killed the children, though Kuki groups denied involvement.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the perpetrators had not yet been identified and described the bombing as the “handiwork of individuals or groups with an interest in disturbing the prevailing peace.”
In response to the violence, authorities imposed a curfew in the state capital Imphal and nearby areas, while internet services were suspended for five days to prevent further unrest.
