Imphal/IBNS: In two separate incidents in Manipur’s Senapati and Churachandapur districts on Saturday, Assam Rifle and Indian Army patrol troops were attacked.

An armed group of unidentified men fired at Assam Rifles personnel while conducting area domination patrol on Saturday at Sipijang village in Senapati district.

The Assam Rifles troops were patrolling close to a jungle when the assailants attacked them at around 11:25 am.

As soon as the Assam Rifles retaliated, the unidentified attackers ran away and the two rifles and ammunition were recovered.

In another incident, a joint Army and Assam Rifles domination patrol was fired at in Churachandapur district’s Lailampat village by some unknown persons.

The incident happened around 12:45 pm in a forest area. Two Assam Rifles personnel sustained gunshot wounds and were evacuated.

The troops made retaliatory firing and the operation was in progress when the army issued this statement.

Life in the violence-hit northeastern state continued to limp back to normal elsewhere with curfew being relaxed in 11 districts.

People sheltered in temporary camps also started returning home, a defence official said.

The Army is undertaking surveillance of areas not only in the hinterland but also along the India-Myanmar Border.

After the 'Tribal Solidarity March' on May 3 in the 10 hill districts of the northeastern state, violent clashes erupted as a response to the protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Prior to the clashes, tensions had escalated due to the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, resulting in a series of smaller protests and agitations.

The Meiteis, comprising approximately 53 percent of Manipur's population, primarily reside in the Imphal Valley. The hill districts are predominantly inhabited by the tribal communities—Nagas and Kukis—constituting around 40 percent of the state's population.

The army also urged people not to fall for “malicious attempts to disturb harmony through manipulated interpretation or misrepresentation of facts” as “inimical elements may once again attempt to spread malicious unverified content”.