Manipur crisis: Victims of violence laid to rest after eight months

IMPHAL: Over 20 Manipur violence victims, belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, were laid to rest in Kangpokpi district on Friday (December 15).

A total of 23 Kuki-Zo victims were buried at the Martyrs Cemetery at Phaijang village in Kangpokpi district of Manipur.

The victims were laid to rest after their family members, village chiefs and members of civil society paid their last tributes.

The mass burial service was held amid the 12-hour shutdown called by the Committee of Tribal Unity (COTU).

On the other hand, bodies of 87 other Kuki-Zo victims will be buried on December 20 in Churachandpur district of Manipur.

It may be meet here that 60 bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts after being shifted from the morgues of JNIMS and RIMS in Imphal.

The ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a "Tribal Solidarity March" was organised in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little more than 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.