Five dead as armed groups clash in Manipur’s border districts

At least five people were killed in fresh clashes between armed factions in Manipur’s Kamjong and Ukhrul districts on Friday night and Saturday. Former chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh and residents along the India‑Myanmar frontier said the death toll rose to seven, adding that two of the dead were believed to belong to the Kuki National Army (Burma) after they attacked Naga villages in Kamjong. A 42‑year‑old Kuki woman, Domkhonei Touthang, was shot dead in Chassad Kuki village, and 22‑year‑old Michael Ngamminlen Haokip died in the same gunfight that continued into Saturday morning. Two more alleged Myanmar‑based Kuki militants were reported killed, but officials could not confirm the figures.

Reaction

The Tangkhul Naga Long’s committee claimed Kuki fighters opened fire on an Indian Reserve Battalion patrol in Chassad, sparking the exchange. The Naga group said the attackers set fire to nine houses in Kamjong headquarters, wounded two civil‑defence volunteers, and later struck Ningchou village, killing Ngachanso Ningshen and Leishisan Leishadang while torching a police post. Kuki organisations blamed the Indian Reserve Battalion and the NSCN (Isak‑Muivah) faction for the killing of Domkhonei, demanding an FIR, arrests, compensation and an independent central probe into alleged NSCN infiltration of security forces. Deputy chief minister Nemcha Kipgen and the apex Kuki body condemned the deaths of two Kuki civilians and of 40‑year‑old Gurkha farmer Sandeep Rai, who was shot on the Mahadev‑Talui road in Ukhrul.

Context

The violence erupted after a security sweep from Oct 4‑7 that cleared 27 improvised explosive devices along an 8‑km stretch of the Myanmar border, highlighting the fragile security situation in the hill districts.