12 hours of mayhem in Manipur: 9 killed as violence engulfs hill districts

GUWAHATI: Nine people, including a Kuki mother of five and a Gorkha farmer, were killed in 12 hours of violence across three Manipur districts, as houses and shops were torched and gunfights erupted, prompting prohibitory orders in Kamjong and an indefinite shutdown call on NH-202.Since the outbreak of the Naga-Kuki clashes in February, at least 22 Nagas and 31 Kukis have been killed.The toll, comprising six Nagas, two Kukis and a Gorkha farmer, makes it one of the deadliest outbreaks in the state in the past year. While state authorities did not identify those behind the attacks, Naga and Kuki civil society groups accused militant outfits operating in Manipur and across the Myanmar border of orchestrating the killings.The violence on Saturday followed the death of Domkhonei Touthang, a 42-year-old Kuki woman, at Chassad village in Kamjong on Friday night.