IMPHAL: Two groups exchanged gunfire in the Koutruk village of Manipur's Imphal West district on Thursday, barely 48 hours after Meitei legislators and Kuki legislators held discussions in Delhi to find an amicable solution to the flare-up, police said.
The police said that armed attackers fired from the hills in Kangpokpi district towards the low-lying Koutruk village. Local volunteers retaliated, but afterwards, a massive security force was deployed in the area to restore the situation and get things under control.
Despite no one being hurt or damage to the properties in the clash, tension lingered in the region.
Koutruk village has faced the onslaught of two gun attacks in a month and also suffered a drone bomb attack.
In a bid to bring peaceful closure to the on-going conflict, nearly 20 MLAs from the Meitei and Kuki communities met for the first time in New Delhi since ethnic violence flared up 17 months ago on Tuesday.
Over two hours long, the meeting, organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs, included BJP MP Sambit Patra and three MLAs from the Naga community in an attempt to end the crisis.
Meanwhile, the MHA summoned an essential summit at New Delhi into the Manipur situation. In a new first since the violent clashes erupted on 3rd May 2023 representatives from the elected Meitei, Kuki-Zo and Naga communities of the states attended talks.
A high-level meeting was attended by prominent leaders from Manipur along with representatives from Kuki-Zo and Naga, particularly MLAs Meitei, Dr. Sapam Ranjan, Govindas Konthoujam, and Thounaojam Basanta Kumar on the occasion. In addition to them, other delegation members were also Letpao Haokip, Haokholet Kipgen, Paolilien Haokip, and Naga leaders Ram Muivah and Losii Dikho.
The much-hyped meeting ran for two hours with BJP Northeast Coordinator MP Dr Sambit Patra and Interlocutor Home Ministry A.K. Mishra present.
Despite the aims of bridging the ethnic gap which has led to more than 230 deaths and displacing more than 59,000, the Kuki-Zo group once again demanded a separate administration which the state government continues to oppose.
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