Armed militants torch police outpost, set several houses on fire in Manipur's Jiribam

Guwahati: The armed militants on Saturday torched a police outpost and set several houses on fire in Jiribam district of trouble-torn Manipur.

Informing that the attack on the Jiri police outpost, situated in Chotobekra area near the Barak river, occurred around 12.30 am, security sources said that suspected hill-based armed militants also carried out multiple attacks in Lamtai khunou and Modhupur area of the district, which is approximately 220 km from Imphal, the state capital.

Security sources said that a commando contingent of Manipur Police has been airlifted to Jiribam on Saturday morning from Imphal to assist in the security operations against the militants.

A district officer from Jiribam said that several houses in the outlying areas of the district have been burnt, though the exact number cannot be confirmed yet.

Meanwhile, newly elected Congress MP from Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, called upon the state government to ensure the protection of lives and properties of the people in Jiribam district. He told reporters, “I have talked with district officials of Jiribam. They said some reinforcements have arrived. While those in the town are being provided security, those in peripheral areas are not being provided security."

Security sources in Imphal said that approximately 239 people, mostly women and children, have been evacuated from their villages in Jiribam district and are currently taking shelter at the sports complex in Jiri town.

The evacuation was necessitated after the outbreak of violence following the killing of a man allegedly by militants on June 6. In response to the incident, the Jiribam district administration imposed an indefinite curfew in the district. The killing has reignited ethnic tensions in the district, which had previously remained unaffected by the ongoing violence in Manipur since May last year.

Jiribam district, known for its diverse ethnic composition, including Meiteis, Muslims, Nagas, Kukis, and non-Manipuris, had not witnessed any impact of the ethnic violence that rocked the state earlier.