Kuki tribes began their protest, arguing that they will not be able to move freely until their demand for a separate administration carved out of the state is met. Videos shared on social media websites show a vehicle leading the way in hitting blockades in Kangpokpi district, 45 km from the state capital, Imphal.
Several people, including women who tried to block the highway, were injured when security forces lathi-charged them. The Narendra Modi-led government said that there should be no blockheads anywhere from March 8 in the state that came under President's rule after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.
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A bus of the Manipur state transport was attacked in Kangpokpi on Saturday after inter-district bus services resumed from Imphal to hill areas since ethnic strife broke out in the northeastern state two years ago.
Lathicharge by Security Forces
Visuals shared by local on X (formerly Twitter) show protesters pelting stones at vehicles, digging up roads, burning tyres and putting up barricades. Over 250 people have died in the violence and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced after violence in valley dominated by Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.
Meitei organisations have questioned why thousands of internally displaced people living in relief camps are threatened by the Kuki tribes from returning home to rebuild their lives, when talks can go on simultaneously.