Manipur's JD(U) MLA Abdul Nasir on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to declare those responsible for the killing of women and children in Jiribam district as "terrorists".

Nasir, the MLA of Lilong constituency in Thoubal district, dubbed the killings as an "act of cowardice" and "heinous crime that has crossed all levels of barbarism".

"This heinous crime has crossed all levels of barbarism... and is an act of cowardice. Those responsible for the killings should be declared as terrorists by the Government of India," he said.

Calling for the immediate arrest of those responsible for the killings, he urged the Parliament to pass a resolution in the coming session, condemning the incident.

Despite appeals from various corners, women and children were brutally and inhumanely killed, Nasir added.

The bodies of five of the six persons who went missing from Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11, were found in Jiri River in Jiribam and Barak River in Assam's Cachar over the last few days.

The six persons, including three women and children each from the Meitei community, went missing from a relief camp in Jiribam's Borobekra area and were allegedly abducted by Kuki-Zo militants.

The incident has sparked massive protests in Imphal Valley, with protesters storming the houses of over a dozen MLAs, including ministers, and setting fire to several properties belonging to the legislators.

Amid the protests, National People's Party (NPP), which has seven MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, withdrew support from the BJP-led government, claiming that the N Biren Singh dispensation has "completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the northeastern state.

The withdrawal of support on Sunday, however, would not have any impact on the BJP government, as the saffron party enjoys a majority with its 32 MLAs. The saffron camp has also the support of five MLAs of the Naga People's Front (NPF) and six JD(U) legislators.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.

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