Site of the Assam Rifles camp that was set on fire by the mob in Manipur
Imphal: On December 11, a mob assaulted and set ablaze an Assam Rifles makeshift camp in the Kamjong district of Manipur. The mob entered in a conflict with the security forces citing alleged harassment and limitations on timber transit, according to officials. The Kasom Khullen block of the Naga majority district was home to the members of the group that attacked the camp in the Hongbei area. According to officials, tensions increased on Saturday when soldiers from the Assam Rifles allegedly prohibited the delivery of timber meant for home construction in Kasom Khullen. Large crowds of locals, including women, reportedly gathered to call for an end to the frisking procedures and the evacuation of AR officers from the Tangkhul Naga community’s neighborhood.
According to them, Assam Rifles officers dispersed the demonstrators by firing in the air and using tear gas shells.
Later, the crowd damaged the paramilitary force’s temporary camp and asked that they leave the area. There were no reported casualties in the altercation. Since May 2023, ethnic conflict between Kukis and Meiteis has left over 260 people dead and 60 thousands homeless in Manipur, where the Assam Rifles are one of the central forces stationed in several areas. But local sources said that the incident isn’t related to the ongoing ethnic clashes in the state.
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