Armed mobs rampage through villages and push remote Indian region to the brink of civil war

KANGVAI, India — Zuan Vaiphei is armed and prepared to kill. Armed tribal Kuki community members patrol near a de facto frontline dissecting the area into two ethnic zones in Churachandpur, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. The administration, mostly made up of Meiteis, also appears to be coming down heavily on Kukis after Singh alleged that some of those involved in the latest clashes were “terrorists.” However, India’s top military officer, Gen. Anil Chauhan, who visited the state in May, had a different view, saying “this particular situation in Manipur has nothing to do with counter-insurgency and is primarily a clash between two ethnicities.” Members of Meira Paibis, powerful vigilante group of Hindu majority Meitei women, block traffic as they check vehicles for the presence of members from rival Christian tribal Kuki community, in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Monday, June 19, 2023. Tribal Kuki community volunteers man a checkpoint at a de facto frontline that dissects the area into two ethnic zones in Churachandpur, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Armed Meitei community members stand guard behind a bunker as they keep a watch on rival tribal Kuki community bunkers at a de facto frontline dissecting the area into two ethnic zones in Sugnu, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.