13 Killed as Mob Burns Down State Legislature

Thirteen protesters were killed and hundreds injured in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur when police opened fire to quell protests over the extension of a cease-fire with rebels.

Police said a mob of about 2,000 people burned down the legislature in the state capital, Imphal. They also burned cars, political parties’ offices and lawmakers’ homes.

At least 11 of the protesters who died were shot by police. The speaker of the legislature and four deputies were in critical condition after suffering burns in the blazing assembly building.

The unrest was triggered by the federal government’s decision to widen its 4-year-old truce with ethnic minority Naga rebels in the state of Nagaland to neighboring areas dominated by Naga people, including parts of Manipur.