AIZAWL: Hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil in Aizawl on Friday evening to mourn the deaths of 11 members of the Hmar-Mizo community in the turmoil-hit Jiribam district of Manipur.
The Mizo Defence League organized the demonstration, which took place in front of Vanapa Hall to express grief and outrage over the violence that claimed the lives of several individuals.
The murder of a Hmar tribal woman, a mother of three, on November 7 in Zairawn village, close to Jiribam town, particularly enraged the protesters.
The agitators also condemned the deaths of 10 more Hmar-Mizo community members allegedly by security forces on November 11 at Jakuradhor, also in Jiribam.
Demonstrators chanted slogans during the vigil, holding both the Manipur state government and the central government responsible for the ongoing ethnic strife between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
The protesters expressed their anger at the authorities' failure to bring an end to the violence, which has destroyed the lives of many innocent people.
The demonstrators also demanded the return of the 10 deceased individuals' bodies, currently held at the mortuary of Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam, to their families for proper burial rites.
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