National

Army Soldier Injured In Fresh Manipur Clashes

An Army soldier sustained gunshot wounds after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village, the reports said.

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An Army soldier was injured in fresh clashes in violence-hit Manipur, the reports said on Monday.

During the clashes in the state on intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, an Army soldier has been left injured, the reports said.

The reports said an Army soldier sustained gunshot wounds after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village.

The incident occurred in Imphal West, they said.

As per reports, he was immediately rushed to a military hospital in Leimakhong, where his condition is said to be stable.

The news agency PTI in its report said miscreants also set three houses on fire in Chinmang village, which was later doused by the Army.

"Armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village during the night of 18/19 June. Army Columns resorted to controlled retaliatory fire, keeping in view the presence of villagers in the area. One Army Soldier sustained a gun shot Wound, evacuated to Military Hospital Leimakhong and is stable. Additional columns inducted in the area & joint operations are in progress," an official statement read.

According to the reports, the clashes also happened in Imphal and Kangpokpi districts in the state.

The reports also said the two establishments were destroyed by unidentified miscreants allegedly from the Kuki community in Sekmai region.

The violence has erupted in Manipur for over a month and a half ย now with more than 100 people having lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Kukis and Meiteis.

The state government had imposed a curfew on 11 districts and banned internet services in a bid to stop the spread of rumours in the state.

Clashes first broke out on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals - Nagas and Kukis - constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.