Rapid Action Force conducts flag march at Imphal in violence-hit Manipur

Imphal (Mpur) [India], May 6 : The Rapid Action Force (RAF) on Saturday conducted a flag march in the violence-hit Mpur's Imphal.

Earlier in the day, a senior official of the Indian army told that with the joint efforts of Assam Rifles, we have so far evacuated more than 16,000 persons from the violence-hit areas of the North Eastern state.

He said that efforts are on to bring the overall situation under control and for normalcy to be returned.

"So far, the Indian army and Assam Rifles have evacuated more than 16,000 people from different parts of the state. Flag marches are being held to control the situation," the army official said.

On the other hand, defence sources said that as many as 120 columns of the Indian army and Assam Rifles have deployed in the violence-hit areas of the state and 10 CRPF compes are on their way to Mpur.

On the other hand, several violent incidents took place in Churachandpur district on Friday night.

Churachandpur has witnessed a fresh round of violence after remaining peaceful for 18 hours.

In the Changpikot area in the Churachandpur district, a clash between two groups occured on May 5 night.

Meanwhile, Internet services remain suspended and curfew imposed in violence-affected regions and security forces deployed in Mpur to avert crisis after clashes began between communities residing in hills and plains districts.

This comes after a Scheduled Tribes reservation was demanded by the plains dwellers, who are predominantly Meiteis and are the majority in numbers. Against those demands, a rally was orgsed by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Mpur on Wednesday, which later turned violent.

Several state governments, including those in the country's northeastern part, are working on plans to evacuate their citizens out of the violence-hit Mpur.