Violence flares in India’s Manipur, after rocket attack kills two children

IMPHAL, India: Fresh violence has erupted in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur after a suspected rocket strike on a civilian home in Bishnupur district killed two young children, prompting protests, a security clampdown and an indefinite curfew across multiple districts, officials said on Tuesday.

The early-morning attack in the village of Tronglaobi Awang Leikai in Moirang area hit a house where a five-year-old boy and his infant sister were sleeping, authorities said. Their mother was critically injured and rushed to hospital, police added.

Angry residents staged protests and clashes with security forces broke out in Bishnupur and nearby areas, leading the government to suspend internet services in five districts including Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Kakching to curb the spread of unrest. The protesters also set fire to several army vehicles, Indian media reported.

An indefinite curfew has been imposed in the valley districts most affected by the violence, and the state government has handed over the investigation into the blast to India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), a senior official said.

Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh condemned the attack as an “assault on humanity” and visited survivors, pledging that security forces would ensure justice and provide medical care to the wounded.

Manipur has been grappling with intermittent ethnic violence since 2023, largely between the majority Meitei community concentrated in the Imphal Valley and tribal groups from the surrounding hills, with scores killed and thousands displaced in previous clashes. Analysts say longstanding grievances over land, identity and political representation have fuelled cycles of retaliation.

Security forces have bolstered their presence in the valley and hill districts, conducting patrols and search operations to prevent further escalation, officials said. They urged residents to maintain calm and allow law enforcement to carry out its work.