GUWAHATI, India: Police in a remote Indian state said troops were restoring order on Friday after ethnic clashes that killed at least six people and saw weapons stolen from police stations.
India rushed hundreds of soldiers to Manipur, along the border with Myanmar, on Thursday after a protest march by a tribal group turned violent. Authorities imposed an internet blackout and issued shoot-at-sight orders in “extreme cases” in an effort to contain the unrest.
Some police stations had been overrun by “miscreants” who stole arms and ammunition, Manipur director general of police P. Doungel told reporters in Imphal, the state capital. But troop patrols had helped to bring the situation under control by Friday, he added. “They do not, like we say, deal with people in a way the police deals. They are meant to destroy... by using maximum force,” Doungel said.