Armed Meitei community members keep a watch from a bunker on rival tribal Kuki community bunkers at a de facto frontline which dissect the area into two ethnic zones in Sugnu, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. At least 120 people have been killed since May in the deadly conflict between Christian Kukis and mostly Hindu Meiteis. The two warring factions have formed armed militias, laying bare the ethnonationalist fissures that have long threatened to worsen instability in India's restive northeastern region.
Paramilitary soldiers inspect the site of a car bomb explosion in Kwakta, some 50 kilometers from Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Manipur is caught in a deadly conflict between two ethnic communities that have armed themselves and launched brutal attacks against one another. The clashes, which have left at least 120 dead by the authorities' conservative estimates, persist despite the army’s presence.
Dozens of houses are seen vandalised and burnt following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Isolated villages are still raked with gunfire. Burnt buildings and churches stare out at the narrow dirt roads. In front-line neighborhoods, women join night patrols with flaming torches.
Manipur policemen from Meitei community stand guard as a volunteer, in blue, peers through binoculars monitoring the positions of rival tribal Kuki community bunkers in Kwakta, some 50 kilometers from Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023.
A woman is seen in a cramped relief center for displaced Meitei community in Moirang, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Meitei community members look towards a hillock where a firing incident had taken place in Kangchup, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Manipur is caught in a deadly conflict between two ethnic communities that have armed themselves and launched brutal attacks against one another. At least 120 people have been killed since May.
A burnt fruit tree stands in front of a vandalised house following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Members of Meira Paibis, powerful vigilante group of Hindu majority Meitei women, try to march toward a site of a gunfight between Meiteis and Tribal Kukis in Kangchup, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Armed Meitei community members stand guard behind a bunker as they keep a watch on rival tribal Kuki community bunkers at a de facto frontline dissecting the area into two ethnic zones in Sugnu, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Armed Meitei community members carry automatic weapons as they rush towards a hillock where a firing incident was reported in Kangchup, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol a deserted street at a de facto frontline which dissect the area into two ethnic zones in Kwakta, near Churachandpur, some 50 kms from Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Lilapati Devi, 55, from the Meitei community, mourns by the grave of her husband A. Ramesh Singh who was killed by a mob of tribal Kukis in Phayeng, near Imphal, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023. A former soldier, Singh carried a licensed gun with him which he fired in the air and some at the mobs, but was hit in his leg. He was abducted with four others and dragged up the hills and his body found in a grove next day, his son said. He was shot in the head.
A shopkeeper stands next to a poster criticising the silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi following ethnic clashes and rioting, in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Robert Singh, 26, from the Meitei community, holds a portrait of his father A. Ramesh Singh who was killed by tribal Kukis in Phayeng, near Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023. A former soldier, Singh carried a licensed gun with him which he fired in the air and some at the mobs, but was hit in his leg. He was abducted with four others and dragged up the hills and his body found in a grove next day, his son said. He was shot in the head.
A box to receive weapons taken during ethnic clashes and rioting is placed in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, June 22, 2023. At least 120 people have been killed since May in the deadly conflict between Christian Kukis and mostly Hindu Meiteis. The conflict has also divided state forces, with many defecting to their communities along with their arms and in some cases more sophisticated weaponry like snipers, light machine guns and mortars.
