NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested 33 people after a surge in ethnic violence in Manipur state, where a curfew and an Internet blackout have been imposed, officers said Thursday. Fighting broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, an ethnic conflict that has since killed at least 200 people.

Since then, communities have splintered into rival groups across swaths of the northeastern state, which borders war-torn Myanmar. After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month. At least 11 people have been killed, including in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence, with insurgents firing rockets and dropping bombs with drones.

“In the follow up to the violent protests in the past few days, Manipur Police has arrested 33 people and apprehended seven juveniles,” a police statement read. It urged people “to cooperate with law enforcing agencies in the maintenance of peace and normalcy”. Authorities have imposed an Internet shutdown in several areas, repeating a blackout that last year lasted for months. Police have also ordered a curfew, but hundreds in the state capital Imphal defied the order.

Meitei protesters marched through Imphal on Tuesday to demand security forces take action against Kuki insurgent groups, whom they blame for the latest spate of attacks. Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.

Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain. Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Fighting last year forced around 60,000 people from their homes, according to government figures. Many have been unable to return home. — AFP