Three of four Meitei men who had gone missing on Wednesday were found dead near the Haotak Phailen village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Thursday, reported the Imphal Free Press.

The four men are from Kumbi in the Bishnupur district.

The men went missing when they had gone to fetch firewood, a senior police official told Scroll. They have been identified as Anand Singh, Dara Singh, Ibomcha Singh and Romen Singh, PTI quoted the police as saying.

Separately, a gunfight also broke out in the Haotak Phailen village on Thursday. This resulted in over 100 women, children and senior citizens fleeing to safer areas.

No casualties have been reported in the incident so far.

Manipur has been gripped by ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities since early May. Over 200 people have been killed since the conflict broke out and nearly 67,000 persons have been forced to flee their homes.

Also read: The backstory: Covering Manipur violence brought back childhood memories of a riot