Manipur: Fears grow over Indian state on brink of civil war
Last week, a retired lieutenant general in India's army bemoaned the volatile situation in his native Manipur, a violence-wracked state in the north-east of the country.
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Nearly two months after it was convulsed by ethnic violence, Manipur is teetering on what many believe is the brink of a civil war. Clashes between the majority Meitei and Kuki communities have left more than 100 dead and over 400 wounded.
Nearly 60,000 people have been displaced and taken shelter in some 350 camps. Some 40,000 security forces - army soldiers, paramilitaries, police - are struggling to quell the violence. Only a quarter of the more than 4,000 weapons looted by mobs from police armouries have been voluntarily returned since the violence began.
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The majority Meiteis make up more than half of Manipur's estimated 3.3 million people. Some 43% of the people are Kukis and Nagas, the two predominant tribal communities, who live in the rolling hills. Most Meiteis follow the Hindu faith, while most Kukis adhere to Christianity.
Previous ethnic - and religious - clashes in Manipur have claimed hundreds of lives. "This time, the conflict is strictly rooted in ethnicity, not religion," says Dhiren A Sadokpam, editor of The Frontier Manipur.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-65679616