Bodies of 35 Kuki-Zo community people who died in the ethnic strife in Manipur will be laid to rest at Lamka town in Churachandpur district on Thursday.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), an organisation of the Kuki-Zo community, is organising the burial programme at the Tuibong peace ground.

The ITLF said in a statement that its Chairman Pa Gin Haokip will give a farewell speech on the occasion.

Meanwhile, after a rumour gained currency that bodies of some Zomi-Kuki people may be taken out for burial, large mobs gathered near two hospitals in Imphal - Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences.

A number of bodies of those who died in the ethnic clashes in Imphal Valley are kept in the morgues of these two hospitals.

However, the police were able to pacify the mob and no untoward incident occurred till 10 pm.

More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts. PTI COR NN NN

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