At least 54 killed in clashes in northeast India

The death toll in the ethnic violence which has engulfed Manipur, India, increased to 54, officials said, as life returned to a wary normalcy in Imphal Valley on Saturday with shops and markets reopening and cars plying on the roads, report informs via the Press Trust of India.

However, unofficially sources placed the death toll at over a hundred and the number of injured at nearly 200.

Central minister Kiren Rijuju added his voice to the appeals for calm in the northeastern state as well as a dialogue between ethnic communities.

On May 5, armed clashes began between extremist groups and security forces, and additional army and police units were deployed to the state. The military evacuated 13,000 people from the clash zone.