At least 30 houses set ablaze in three Manipur villages; 1 injured: Police

In the aftermath of Teikhang Kuki village firing incident that killed three civilians, unknown armed individuals on Tuesday attacked three Liangmai Naga village in Manipur ’s Kangpokpi district along Imphal- Tamenglong road, in which at least 30 houses were set ablaze and one villager was injured, police said.

According to Kangpokpi police, the incident occurred around 4am on Tuesday in which unknown armed individuals attacked three villages, namely Tapon Khullen, Tapon Khunou and Makui Pipuram of Kangpokpi district.

On Monday, a group of armed individuals attacked Teikhang Kuki village in Kangpokpi district killing three individuals including two women and injuring four others.

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A senior police officer told HT, “Additional security forces including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with its CoBRA unit assisted by Manipur police has reached the spot and has launched a search operation in and around the area.”

The officer said the attack was followed by gunfire which lasted till around 12.30pm.

According to police, at least 30 houses and several vehicles and other properties were found to be damaged during the arson. Kangpokpi police told HT that the number of damaged houses and properties are yet to be ascertained.

Since May 13, 17 individuals from Kuki-Zo and Naga sides have been killed in separate incidents.

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The August 27 ambush incident killed four Naga civilians, while the August 31 attack killed three Kuki civilians in the surrounding area along Imphal-Tamenglong road in Kangpokpi and Tamenglong districts of Manipur.

Despite several attacks and retaliation no groups made official claims of any responsibility.

The ethnic clashes in Manipur first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities shut each other out from the areas they dominate since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and displaced 60,000.