Search the Internet           Tips

10 civilians killed in Manipur

At least 10 people were killed and 13 injured on Thursday in a gun battle between tribal guerrillas and paramilitary soldiers in Manipur, police said.

Militants of the outlawed Peoples Liberation Army, who are fighting for an independent tribal homeland, set off an explosion when a three-vehicle convoy of paramilitary Assam Rifles passed through a village bordering the state capital Imphal.

"After the explosion, the PLA rebels fired at the Assam Rifles convoy from atop a hillock and the troops retaliated," Manipur police chief D. S. Grewal told AFP on the telephone from Imphal.

"In the ensuing gun battle that followed at least 10 civilians, including a woman, were killed in the crossfire".

Five Assam Rifles soldiers were seriously injured by bullets, while at least eight civilians were also injured.

"A portion of a truck carrying the soldiers was damaged in the blast," the police chief added.

It was not immediately known if the rebels suffered any casualties.

However, witnesses said the Assam Rifles soldiers panicked after the blast and started firing indiscriminately on villagers waiting by the roadside. The incident took place around 5 pm.

"The soldiers went berserk and started firing on villagers waiting near a market close to the site of the blast", a witness said.

Tell us what you think of this report