The villagers of Dolaithabi, Ekou and Yengkhuman on Saturday urged the government and the authorities concerned to remove the SoO Kuki militants, who have allegedly overrun the Meitei villages of the area, instead of advising the Meitei community to control their anger.
One Thounaojam Bipin Singh, a villager of Leitanpokpi, told the media at a relief camp opened at Leitanpokpi that over 250 houses were burned down by suspected Kuki SoO militants in the area during the ongoing crisis. After burning the houses, the Kuki militants started taking over the Meitei villages, including a paddy field of around 150 acres, he alleged.
No Central paramilitary or state forces have taken up any action to remove the Kuki militants who have seized the Meitei villages and paddy lands, ever since the Meitei people were displaced from their own villages following the clash.
Bipin further said the Kuki villagers and Meitei had reached a ‘verbal resolution’ under which they agreed not to attack each other by raising a white flag. However, some suspected Kuki militants again set fire at a granary inside the village on Friday, he added.
The Kuki militants have spread out into a Nepali village (Koupak) which is located at a distance of around 3 kilometres from the Kuki villages. “What are they hiding among the Nepali communities and why is the state or Central government not taking any action?” he questioned.
The Meitei community does not want to be dominated by the Kuki militants, he further said. The state and central security forces should remove the Kuki militants who are taking over the Meitei villages immediately. The villagers will start taking intensified steps if the government failed to take necessary steps to remove the Kuki militants from the Meitei villages and paddy lands, said Bipin.
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