March 19, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

GUWAHATI, March 18: Twelve men believed to be migrant workers have been shot dead by rebels over the past two days in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, police said on Tuesday.

Three people were shot dead on Tuesday in a village on the outskirts of state capital Imphal, police said, while another man was killed in what appear to be a series of ethnically motivated attacks.

In another attack, two men also from outside the state were shot at but escaped with injuries, police said, adding that one was seriously hurt.

Earlier, the police recovered the bodies of seven unidentified men killed late on Monday from the outskirts of Imphal, official K. Tomba Singh said.

“The seven people were brought in a van and then were lined up by the roadside with their hands tied to their back, and were shot dead from close range with automatic weapons,” said Singh on Tuesday.

Footage of the victims aired on news channel NDTV showed the message “Go back to your own state” scrawled on the back of the shirt of one of the men, who were all lying face down.

Militants also shot dead another man in a similar manner a few miles away on Monday night, Singh said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which echoed shootings this month in the neighbouring state of Assam, where a long-running separatist movement has periodically targeted non-ethnic Assamese who come to the state for work.—AFP