After Mizoram, Manipur-displaced take refuge in Assam

More than a year after the ethnic conflict in Manipur drove some 12,000 people to Mizoram, hundreds of victims of renewed violence have taken refuge in Assam.

GUWAHATI

More than a year after the ethnic conflict in Manipur drove some 12,000 people to Mizoram, hundreds of victims of renewed violence have taken refuge in Assam.

Officials in southern Assam’s Barak Valley said more than 600 people, including women and children, have fled the troubled Jiribam district of Manipur to seek shelter in the Cachar district. 

“Most of the displaced people have taken refuge in the Lakhipur area over the past four days,” Cachar’s Superintendent of Police, Numal Mahatta told journalists. 

Cachar adjoins Jiribam. He also said the security has been tightened along the Assam-Manipur border to prevent the violence from spilling over. 

The discovery of a body on June 6 rekindled the Meitei-Kuki-Zo conflict but away from Manipur’s central Imphal Valley and the adjoining foothills in an area bordering the neighbouring State. Many homes and government buildings have been burnt since.

Local MLA, Kaushik Rai said no formal camps have been set up for the Manipur-displaced and efforts were on to hold peace meetings with diverse communities in the area to offset any violence in the area.