One policeman was killed and at least 10 people injured on Monday following violent overnight clashes in Manipur’s west Kangpokpi area, officials said.

There was a brief lull between about 3 am and 6 am but the sound of indiscriminate firing from Phayeng and Singda villages could be heard after that. The firing was aimed at villages and hills in Kangchup area of Kangpokpi district, the officials said.

Assam Rifles manages a buffer zone between the two villages. Officials did not rule out the possibility of more casualties from both sides and said the exact picture could be ascertained only after the firing came to an end.

At least 150 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when 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. Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

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