Manipur: 11 suspected Kuki militants killed in Jiribam encounter, two CRPF jawans injured (Lead)

Imphal, Nov 11 (IANS) In one of the deadliest encounters, at least 11 suspected Kuki militants were gunned down by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Monday after they attacked a camp of the paramilitary force, officials said.

Police said two CRPF jawans were also injured in the gun battle and one of them stated to be critical has been airlifted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam and is under treatment.

Tribal organisations including the Kuki-Zo Council, the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribals in Manipur, claimed that the “11 Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers lost their lives in the hands of CRPF personnel”.

A police official in Imphal said that Kuki militants attacked a CRPF camp at Jiribam, injuring two jawans.

In the retaliatory fire, the CRPF troopers shot dead 11 suspected Kuki militants while the remaining extremists managed to escape.

There is also a relief camp for the ethnic violence-hit people next to the CRPF camp and the militants may have also targeted it too, officials suspect.

A Manipur police statement said that the attack was fiercely retaliated by CRPF and state Police.

After 40 to 45 minutes of heavy exchange of fire, the situation was brought under control.

After the firing ceased, the area was searched and dead bodies of armed militants were recovered along with arms and ammunition.

The arms and ammunition recovered from the spot included 3 AK series rifles, four SLRs, two INSAS rifles, one RPG, one Pump Action Gun, bulletproof helmets and magazines.

Operations in and around Jakuradhor, under Borobekra Police Station, Jiribam District continue to flush out armed militants.

Reinforcement teams consisting of Assam Rifles, CRPF and state Police have been rushed there.

The situation in the mixed-population district remains extremely tense after the incident and further details are awaited.

The bodies of the Kuki rebels killed in the gunfight were brought to the Borobekra police station, the official said.

Some civilians were missing after the encounter and police officials said that it was not clear whether the villagers were abducted by the fleeing militants or were in hiding after the firing began.

Soon after the incident, Jiribam District Magistrate Krishna Kumar clamped curfew in the district for an indefinite period in a bid to control the situation.

Ethnic violence-ridden Manipur has been witnessing a series of attacks and violent incidents in different districts including Jiribam district during the past two weeks.

Armed attackers from the hills fired from automatic weapons and threw bombs in Manipur’s Imphal East district on Sunday. Combined security forces of the army, the Border Security Force, and police rushed to the areas and retaliated, leading to a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides at Thamnapokpi village.

The armed cadres also fired many powerful bombs on the villagers and the security forces. No one, however, was injured in the incident.

During the past few days, farmers in a few districts were unable to work in their paddy fields due to the firing of armed attackers from hilltops towards the low-lying fields.

To prevent the situation from escalating further, the Manipur Police deployed additional forces in the trouble-torn and vulnerable areas.

Unidentified armed assailants gunned down Sapam Ongbi Sonia Devi, a woman belonging to the Meitei community in Bishnupur district on Saturday. The attackers fired on Devi when she was working in her paddy field at Saiton village and she died on the spot.

The incident occurred within 48 hours after the suspected militants killed another woman named Sangkim and burnt down at least eight houses at Hmar tribal-dominated village Zairon in Manipur’s Jiribam district on November 7.

The woman had been burnt by the fire which engulfed her home. Local sources report that the remains of her burned body were later dismembered by the militants.

During the sudden November 7 attack, panic-stricken villagers, including children, women, and elderly people, managed to flee to safer places.

The Jiribam district, adjoining Assam, has witnessed several incidents of violence this year, though the overall situation in the district had been relatively peaceful even after ethnic violence broke out in many other districts of the northeastern state since May last year.

–IANS

sc/dan