3 killed as fresh violence hits Manipur after a lull

DIMAPUR — In a fresh outbreak of violence in Manipur, heavy gunfire broke out between two rival groups at Thawai, a Kuki village in the Phungyar sub-division of the Ukhrul district, on Friday morning, resulting in the deaths of three individuals.

Sources said that the three persons killed in the encounter with the armed miscreants belong to Kuki village volunteers. It said that two victims sustained multiple bullet injuries while the limbs of the third victim were mutilated.

District Magistrate of Kamjong district, Rangnamei Rang Peter, updated in a government order that the firing incident occurred on Friday, resulting in the death of three persons namely Jamkhogin Haokip, 26, Thangkhokai Haokip, 35, and Hollenson Baite, 24.

He added that the bodies of the three deceased had been taken to District Hospital, Ukhrul, for post-mortem.

The conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities has been continuing since violence broke out more than three months ago but it is the first time that an attack has occurred in Ukhrul district, which is dominated by the Tangkhul Nagas.

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