Guwahati: At least five persons including a policeman were killed and 12 others injured in different instances of firing upon civilians and clashes between terrorists and security forces in Manipur on Sunday.

The fresh clashes come hours ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s scheduled visit to the violence-hit state on Monday.

The latest clashes began after the army and para-military forces commenced combing operations to de-arm communities in order to bring peace, officials said.

Army and paramilitary personnel continued combing operations in the Imphal valley and surrounding districts, an official said on Monday.

The Army operation is aimed at confiscating illegal caches of arms, he said.

However, the incidents of violence prompted district authorities to shorten the 11-hour curfew relaxation period in Imphal East and West districts to just six and a half hours.

On Sunday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said nearly 40 armed militants involved in torching houses and firing at civilians had been killed by security forces since they began an operation to bring peace to the north eastern state beset by ethnic rioting.

He also said that there had been cases of armed terrorists firing at civilians with AK-47s, M-16, and sniper rifles.

Singh appealed to the public not to hinder the movement of security personnel and urged them to have “faith in the government and support the security forces.”

Meanwhile, Amit Shah will embark on a four-day visit to Manipur on Monday for an on-the-spot study of the situation to find a solution to the ongoing ethnic clashes.

The ethnic clashes, which have so far claimed more than 75 lives in Manipur, broke out after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.