Three Killed as Manipur Ethnic Violence Resumes — SkimNews
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- Unidentified militants opened fire on 14 Meitei villagers who were cutting and transporting firewood in Manipur on Monday, killing three and injuring four, per senior police official Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo.
- Meitei groups blamed Kuki militants for the attack; Kuki groups denied involvement, with the victims belonging to the state's mostly Hindu Meitei community.
- The Meitei and predominantly Christian Kuki communities have clashed sporadically since May 2023 over economic benefits and job quotas, with the last reported violence-linked death between them coming in January.
- Protesters in Imphal placed two of the dead bodies before the residence of Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh; officials said the bodies were later removed.
- Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh convened a security meeting to review the overall security situation in the state following the attack.
Why it matters: The October 19 attack produced the first violence-linked deaths in Manipur since January, killing three Meitei villagers and triggering protests where residents placed two bodies at the chief minister's residence — a direct escalation after months of reported calm in the state's ethnic conflict over quotas and economic benefits that began in May 2023.
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