Clashes erupted between Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in a relief camp and security forces in Manipur’s Imphal East district on Thursday after tear gas was used to disperse a protest rally, police said. Approximately 100 IDPs from Akampat relief camp in the district attempted to stage a protest but were stopped by security forces, leading to an altercation, they added.

The relief camp residents, holding placards and banners, were demanding their rehabilitation and a resolution to the ethnic violence in the state so they could return to their homes at Moreh in Tengnoupal district, and other areas. Ethnic violence in the state which started in May 2023 has so far claimed 226 lives and left over 59,000 people displaced, officials said.