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| Sunday, 25 April 2004 |
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Rebels attack ministers' houses ahead of vote in India's Manipur GUWAHATI, India, April 24 (AFP) Rebels opened fire on the homes of three top politicians in India's state of Manipur, police said Saturday, describing the attack as an attempt to trigger panic ahead of elections next week. There were no casualties when the rebels sprayed the homes of three ministers in the revolt-hit northeastern state with automatic weapons fire late Friday, police said. "The attacks were an attempt to create panic," a police official said. Some 19 rebel groups are battling in the far-flung state for demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy. At least three of them have called for a boycott of Monday's election, which is part of the third phase of India's five-stage general elections. One group has declared a general strike starting Sunday at midnight. Police said they suspected the Revolutionary People's Front was behind the attacks on the homes of the ministers, who were all from India's opposition Congress party in power in Manipur. "There's complete panic and chaos with most of us unable to venture out of our homes for fear of rebel attacks," said M. Singh, a member of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party, in the state capital Imphal. Two parliamentary seats are up for grabs in Manipur. Last Tuesday, attacks by militants and the kidnapping of poll officials marred voting for the first seat. Monday's poll will be for the second seat. More than 10,000 people have died in rebel-related violence in Manipur over the past two decades On Thursday militants killed three security officers in a remote area in Bishenpur district, 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Imphal, police said. "There were reports of militants entering a village and warning people not to vote. When our team reached the spot they got ambushed," an official said. "Security forces are deployed in strength but it's impossible to guard each and every inch of the area," he said. The rebel attacks and threats have forced politicians to ditch plans for intensive campaigning. "The situation is very tense and charged," a Congress leader said. "The militant threats are causing real problems for all parties." |
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