The inter-ethnic clashes that have rocked the Indian state of Manipur since Wednesday have led to the deployment of soldiers and left fifty-four dead, according to a report relayed on Saturday, May 6, by the Indian press agency PTI.
The situation in this state bordering Burma degenerated on Wednesday, during a demonstration by tribal communities protesting against the request of the Meiteis, the majority ethnic group in Manipur, to benefit from positive discrimination measures.
Hundreds of Indian military personnel were dispatched Thursday with orders to shoot on sight "in extreme cases" in an attempt to restore calm. Security forces used tear gas in Imphal, the state capital, to disperse protesters, some of whom had set fire to cars and homes. Authorities also cut internet access and imposed a curfew.
The situation remained tense on Saturday after further violence on Friday evening, police authorities told Agence France-Presse.
No official report has yet been made public.
A first assessment of the clashes communicated Thursday reported six dead but the Indian agency PTI counted fifty-four on Saturday, based on data collected from local morgues. No official toll has yet been released by local authorities or security forces, but India's Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters on Saturday that "many lives were lost" in the incident. of these troubles.
Located in northeast India, the remote state of Manipur has for decades experienced tensions involving ethnic and separatist groups. The region is thus home to dozens of tribal groups and guerrilla movements whose demands range from greater autonomy to outright secession from the rest of India.
At least 50,000 people were killed in the various conflicts that followed the first uprising in the state of Manipur in the early 1950s. However, these clashes faded over the years thanks to agreements reached with New Delhi granting more autonomy to many of these local groups.
