At least two houses were set on fire by unidentified miscreants on Thursday in the New Checkon area of Imphal, a senior Assam Rifles official told Scroll.

A group of protesters also clashed with security forces, which fired tear gas shells to control the situation, according to The Times of India.

The area has a mixed population of Meiteis, Kukis, Nagas and others. But, the houses that were set on fire were located in a Kuki settlement.

Tensions had been running high in the area since the violence in Aigejang village in which nine persons were killed on Tuesday. The killings followed a number of arson cases in the preceding 36 hours, according to an Army official.

The North Eastern state has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 3. The violence has left more than 100 persons dead, over 300 injured and thousands displaced. Nearly 60,000 are taking shelter in 350 relief camps.

On Wednesday night, unidentified miscreants had set the official residence of Manipur minister Nemcha Kipgen on fire in the Lamphel area of the Imphal West district. No one was present at the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA’s home when it was torched.

After the latest round of tensions, curfew relaxations were reduced in Imphal. In the Imphal East and Imphal West districts, the curfew relaxation period was from 5 am to 6 pm earlier and is now from 5 am to 9 am.

A curfew remains in force in 11 out of 16 districts of Manipur. Internet services have been suspended in the entire state.

‘Centre’s assurances on violence are empty’: Tribal body

The Manipur Tribal Forum has told the Supreme Court that the Central government’s assurances regarding the violence in the state are false and non-serious, reported Bar and Bench.

In an interlocutory application filed on June 9, the body alleged that Centre and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh have “embarked jointly on a communal agenda for the ethnic cleansing of the Kukis.”

The tribal body claimed that since the last hearing of the issue in the Supreme Court, at least 81 persons belonging to the Kuki tribe have been killed and 31,410 members of the community have been displaced, according to Live Law. The group also sought protection from the Army, saying that it does not trust the state government or the police.

The body added that that the media coverage portraying the violence as a clash between two tribal communities is “far from the truth” and further alleged that the attackers are backed by the ruling party in power, the BJP.