A Central Reserve Police Force soldier was killed on Sunday morning in heavy exchange of gunfire between the security forces and suspected militants in Manipur’s Jiribam district, The Indian Express reported.

Two Manipur Police personnel were also injured in the attack that took place near the Mongbung village in Jiribam, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officials as saying. However, PTI reported that one police personnel had been injured.

The state has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the tribal Kuki and the Meitei communities since May 2023. The violence has left at least 225 persons dead and displaced 60,000 persons from their homes since the beginning of the clashes.

For more than a year, Jiribam had been a relatively peaceful district as compared with the rest of the state. However, violence has escalated in the district since last month.

On Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the attack. “I strongly condemn the killing of a CRPF personnel in an attack carried out by an armed group, suspected to be Kuki militants, in Jiribam district today,” the chief minister said.

“His supreme sacrifice in the line of duty shall not go in vain,” said Biren Singh in a social media post. “I further extend my sincere condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased soldier, while praying for the speedy recovery of the ones injured during the attack.”

Also read: How a relatively peaceful district became the ‘new battleground’ in Manipur