Thousands of women, predominantly Meira Paibis (women torch bearers), took to the streets in the five districts of Imphal valley, Manipur, on Thursday afternoon, protesting against the frequent gun attacks by armed men targeting villages near the hills adjacent to the valleys.
Organised by the civil body People’s Alliance for Peace and Progress Manipur, women in Singjamei, Kakwa, and Heingang in Imphal West district raised slogans to safeguard “the territorial and administrative integrity” of Manipur, condemning the gun attacks by armed men on villagers, according to news agency PTI.
The protesters also demanded the annulment of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement signed between the Kuki militants and the central government.
Gaitri S, a university student participating in the protest at Kongba in Imphal East district, told PTI, “We want the central government and its security agencies to investigate the continuous supply of ammunition to the militants, enabling them to persistently attack villages for the last nine months.”
Similar human chain protests unfolded at Khurai Lamlong and Kongba in Imphal East district, Lilong in Thoubal district, and Moirang Lamkhai in Bishnupur district.
The protest comes amid renewed attacks in Imphal valley by suspected militants in Pukhao Shantipur in Imphal East district, Sugnu in Kakching district, and Kadangband in Imphal West district.
Renu Laishram, a protester advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants present since 1961, expressed to PTI, “How can we remain at peace when the administrative unity and territorial integrity of the state are being threatened every single day? The state was built over the course of 2000 years by the indigenous people and its rulers. How can we tolerate if some illegal immigrants who came into the state not more than 50/40 years want to break it?”
Earlier this week, a 25-year-old village volunteer lost his life in a gunfight between two communities at Pukhao Shantipur in Imphal East district, while an army officer sustained gunshot injuries in a separate incident in the same district while attempting to control a situation.
On Wednesday, armed men attacked Sugnu village in Kakching district, leading to a gunfight with village volunteers stationed in the area.
Sugnu had witnessed severe violence last May, resulting in the burning of numerous houses and the loss of more than five lives, prompting hundreds of villagers to seek refuge in relief camps.
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