Parts of Manipur state in northeast India shut down after 10 people killed by security forces

Ethnic organizations in parts of India’s violence-wracked northeastern state shut schools and businesses Tuesday, protesting the killings of 10 people by paramilitary soldiers.

They called for an 11-hour shutdown in the hill districts of Manipur from 5 a.m. Tuesday. Heavy gunfire was reported overnight in the periphery of the hills and the Imphal Valley.

Life was paralyzed in the area, with schools and businesses closed and people staying indoors. There were no vehicles on the road.

The Manipur state police said those killed Monday were “armed militants” and the soldiers fired at them after they attacked their post near the district town of Jiribam on Monday.

One soldier with a bullet injury was evacuated to a hospital for treatment, the police said in a statement.

However, the Tribal Leaders’ Forum said all those killed were local village volunteers belonging to the Hmar ethnic group who were patrolling the area to protect tribal villages following a recent armed attack that killed a woman.

A police statement said the paramilitary soldiers fiercely retaliated against the militants’ attack, and a heavy exchange of heavy gunfire lasted 45 minutes.