Thursday, February 03, 2005

25 houses destroyed in ethnic violence in Manipur

IMPHAL, Feb 2 – A red alert has been sounded after destruction of 25 dwelling-houses belonging to the ethnic Khoibu tribes by well-armed persons at Khangsim village under the Kakching police station in Thoubal district of Manipur in the early hours on Wednesday, the police said.

About 200 well-armed persons suspected to be the Maring Naga tribes who came in four Saktiman trucks dismantled and destroyed the dwelling houses and household properties including cooking gas, scooters and TV sets in the rampage which lasted around 30 minutes. Properties worth over Rs. five lakh were destroyed in the rampage, the police added.

Security and police forces have started been deployed in the sensitive places of this village in the backdrop of possible ethnic violence. Last year, the villages in around the Khoibu tribal inhabited areas of the same district were brought under SEction 144, CrPC because of attacks by the same tribals. These two tribes are at constant clashes over the job opportunities and other benefits from the governments at the Centre and State.

The Maring has been recognized by the Government of India as one of the tribes but the Khoibu is still fighting for inclusion in the list. In this case, the Khoibus are taking other opportunities and benefits from the Marings. Both these tribes are inhabited in the southern part of the state. The police further stated that the violence is one of the resurgence of ethnic clash that the state had witnessed in the early 90s between the Nagas and the Kukis.

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