Five people were killed and 5 others injured in separate incidents.

Violence has erupted once again in Manipur. At least five people, including a policeman, were killed and 12 others injured after fresh violence broke out in Manipur on Sunday. At least 70 people were killed in ethnic violence last month. Five persons were killed and 5 others injured in separate incidents of firing on people and clashes between militants and security forces in different areas of Manipur, police said on Sunday. Police officials gave this information on Sunday.
One person was killed and another injured when suspected Kuki militants opened fire at Fayeng in Imphal West district, they said. A policeman was killed and another was injured in the firing in Sugnu, officials said. Six others were injured in Sugnu and four in Serau.

The latest clashes began when the army launched a search operation to arm the communities to restore peace, the officials said. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said security forces have killed around 40 armed militants involved in arson and firing on people since they launched operations to restore peace in the state.

Speaking to mediapersons at the state secretariat, the chief minister claimed that the recent "clashes were not between communities but between Kuki militants and security forces". He said the security forces retaliated by targeting the militants.

The chief minister appealed to the people not to obstruct the movement of security personnel and urged them to "have faith in the government and support the security forces". "We have experienced hardships for so long and we will never allow the state to disintegrate," Singh said, adding that several Kuki militants involved in killings of civilians and damage to property and arson of houses have been captured by the Jat regiment.

The residence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Khwairkpam Raghumani Singh at Uripok in West Imphal was vandalised and two of his vehicles set on fire, a top security official told PTI. He said clashes broke out in the early hours between rival ethnic militant groups as well as militants and security forces at several places. "As per our information, firing has been reported from Sugnu in Kakching, Kangvi in Churachandpur, Kangchup in Imphal West, Sagolmang in Imphal East, Nungoipokpi in Bishenpur, Khurkhul in Imphal West and YKPI in Kangpokpi," the official said.

Unconfirmed information about weapons being looted by the Maitei group was also received from Kakching police station, the official said. He said militants torched around 80 houses belonging to the Maitei community in Napat, Seru and nearby Sugnu in Kakching district, forcing villagers to flee at midnight.

State police personnel deployed in the area retaliated, leading to heavy firing, the officials said. In the eastern part of Manipur Valley, armed militants attacked and torched two houses and opened fire on villagers at Yaingangpokpi in Imphal East district. There have also been reports of people being injured.

At Sekamai in Imphal West district, armed militants attacked the area, which led to firing from both sides. In Bishnupur district, armed Kuki militants attacked Fogkachao Ikhai, Torbang and Kangwai areas on Saturday night, setting ablaze more than 11 houses belonging to the Maitei community. Due to the violence in the last few hours, the district authorities reduced the curfew relaxation from <> hours in Imphal East and West district to just six and a half hours.

Over 75 people were killed in ethnic clashes in Manipur after a 'tribal solidarity march' was organised in the hill districts on May 53 to protest against the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status by the Maitei community. Tension had already deepened over the eviction of Kuki villagers from the reserved forest land. Maitei constitute about 140 per cent of Manipur's population and mostly live in the Imphal Valley. Around 10 columns of the Army and Assam Rifles, including over 000,<> personnel, had to be deployed besides paramilitary forces to bring back normalcy in the state.