A day after eleven suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Manipur's Jiribam district, the situation remained calm but tense on Tuesday morning, with police patrolling vulnerable areas, according to officials. The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders to prevent any untoward incidents, while an operation is underway to locate missing individuals.
A shutdown has been observed since 5 am on Tuesday in Kuki-Zo majority areas in the hills to protest the killing of suspected insurgents, according to officials. Eleven suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Monday after insurgents, dressed in camouflage and armed with sophisticated weapons, opened fire indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent CRPF camp in Jiribam district. Two CRPF personnel were injured during the intense exchange of fire at Borobekra, with one of them in critical condition, officials added.
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Following this incident, fresh violence was reported from multiple places in Imphal Valley where armed groups from the two warring sides engaged in exchanges of fire, police said. The Kuki-Zo Council called for a total shutdown in the hill areas of the state from 5 am to 6 pm on Tuesday to express their "collective grief and solidarity who were brutally shot dead".
In a series of attacks, suspected militants set fire to several shops and houses in and around the Jakurador Karong market, as well as the Borobekra police station and the nearby CRPF camp. As security forces retaliated, a heavy exchange of fire ensued, resulting in the deaths of 11 suspected militants, according to officials. The gunfight lasted for 40 to 45 minutes before the situation was brought under control, the police added.