Killing of 13 Meitei youths by mercenaries, RPF/ PLA condemns

Imphal: Outlawed People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the proscribed Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) on Friday condemned the killing of 13 youths in an area between Leithao and Moltham villages in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district bordering Myanmar on the south on December 4, 2023.

In a statement, the RPF states that they paid revolutionary salutes to those who came to join the outfit upon understanding the strategy of the enemies to drive a wedge among different communities in Manipur.

The condolence meets were held at all the units, departments, and stations of the RPF and PLA to pay last respect to the departed friends while sharing the grief and pain of the bereaved families.

The statement alleged that those Meitei youths were unarmed when the joint team of central security forces and Kuki tribal mercenaries captured and tortured them before the inhumane executions, an extreme form of terrorism.

The RPF strongly condemned such inhumane acts that could be tried by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a war crime to uphold the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention 1949 and additional protocols in 1997, it added.

However, no group so far claims responsibility for the killing.

Notably, major political parties including the Congress, Janata Dal-United, CPI, Manipur, and several CSOs condemned the killings of unarmed men by the well-armed men.

The bodies of the killed persons were buried at Andro Torongthel in Imphal East district on December 6, 2023.