Global Courant 2023-05-04 13:13:00
GUWAHATI, India — Indian Army soldiers held flag marches and evacuated thousands of civilians amid a dawn-to-dusk curfew to quell violence between tribal and non-tribal groups in the remote northeastern state of Manipur, officials said Thursday.
Violence initially erupted during a protest march on Tuesday by thousands of tribal people opposing a non-tribal group’s demand for the constitutionally defined status of a scheduled tribe.
Indian army sources said troops and the paramilitary Assam Rifles evacuated more than 7,500 people from different communities on Wednesday night and Thursday.
The evacuees were housed in troop camps and government buildings.
“We are working on a war basis with army and paramilitary troopers who have been vigorously deployed to defuse any kind of clashes, protests and blockades between communities,” a senior police officer, who sought anonymity, told Reuters from the capital Imphal.
Mobile internet services have been suspended statewide for five days amid incidents of fighting between young men and volunteers from different communities, the state government said in a statement.
In a social media post, Mr. N. Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, which borders Myanmar, joined hands to maintain peace and harmony, adding that “precious life” had been lost in the clashes.
However, there was no official confirmation of any deaths.
Tuesday’s march in the Churachandpur district was called by a student union, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur.
It was protesting a majority demand from the non-tribal Meitei community for scheduled tribe status.
“The situation is tense, but we are trying to engage community leaders in a dialogue process,” the area’s district magistrate, Sharath Chandra, told Reuters.
That would help bring the situation under control, in addition to security measures put in place to deter violence, he added. The curfew applies indefinitely.
Television channels broadcast footage of both tribes, who make up about 40 percent of the state’s 3.6 million residents, and of Meiteis burning tires on roads and setting fire to some homes in parts of the state. REUTERS
