The bodies of 13 Meitei men with bullet wounds were found in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district on Monday afternoon, Superintendent of Police Luikham Lanmiyo told Scroll.

The bodies were found in the Leithu village, which is dominated by the Kuki-Zomi community. Security forces reached the spot after they heard gunshots around 10.30 am, an unidentified Army official told Scroll. However, they did not find any weapons with the bodies.

While Manipur has been witnessing an ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and Kukis since May 3, no incident of violence has been reported from the Leithu village. The violence in the northeastern state has left over 200 persons dead and displaced nearly 60,000 people.

On Sunday, the state government lifted the ban on mobile internet from most parts of the state till December 18.

Mobile internet services will, however, remain suspended within a 2-kilometre periphery of the district boundaries of Chandel and Kakching, Churachandpur and Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Kakching, Kangpokpi and Imphal West, Kangpokpi and Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Thoubal and Tengnoupal and Kakching.