Armed men burn ex-police officer's house in Manipur's Jiribam

NEW DELHI: Fresh arson erupted on Wednesday in Manpur's Jiribam district as suspected "tribal village volunteers" set a house on fire.The three-room house at Jiribam's Jakuradhor belonged to a retired police officer. The family had vacated the property following previous violence in the district, police told news agency PTI.The cops said armed men, took advantage of the darkness, and burned the house at around 3:30 am. The house stood 28 kilometres from the Jiribam district headquarters.Wednesday's arson occurred despite the August 1 agreement between representatives of Meitei and Hmar communities, who agreed to restore normalcy and prevent further arson in the hill state.The meeting took place at a CRPF facility in Assam's Cachar district and was moderated by Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles, and CRPF personnel, including representatives from the Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite, and Mizo communities of Jiribam.As erratic incidents of violence and arson continue in Manipur, central and state forces deployed in the cauldron of Manipur's 16-month-long ethnic conflict now face a new threat -- drones used by suspected tribal militants to bomb targets. The forces have now sought NSG's expertise to win the aerial battle."This adds another dimension to the conflict. We have spoken to the director general of NSG and his team. Experts are coming here. We have some counter-measures that we will deploy," DGP Rajiv Singh told TOI. Since May last year, more than 225 people have been killed, hundreds wounded, and thousands displaced in the conflict that has widened the hills-valley divide. Weaponised drones in the hands of militants make the challenge of restoring peace doubly difficult for police and central forces trained in traditional combat. There are currently some 60,000 central personnel in Manipur.