People killed in Manipur violence to be buried on Thursday in Churachandpur

Imphal: The Kuki-Zo community will hold a burial service for 35 people who died in the ethnic strife in Manipur at Lamka town in Churachandpur district on Thursday, a tribal organisation said.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) is organising the burial programme at the Tuibong peace ground.

The ITLF, an organisation of the Kuki-Zo community, said in a statement that its chairman Pa Gin Haokip will give a farewell speech on the occasion.

More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundred were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.