Woman killed in gunfight between Kuki & Meitei groups in Manipur, daughter & policeman injured

Imphal/Guwahati: Manipur was back on the edge after a 31-year-old woman was killed Sunday, after a gunfight broke out between armed Kuki and Meitei groups in Koutruk and Kadangband areas of Imphal West district.

Meanwhile, the Home Department in a press release Sunday evening termed the incident as an attack against “unarmed Koutruk villagers using drone, bombs and many sophisticated weapons by Kuki militants.”

“…such an act of creating havoc among the unarmed villagers reportedly by Kuki militants is seen as an attempt to derail the efforts taken by State Government to establish peace in the State,” it added.

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The woman, identified as Ngangbam Surbala, a Meitei, was killed in a bomb explosion in the midst of the gunfire, sources in Imphal told ThePrint. The woman was taken to Imphal’s Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) where she was declared dead.

At least two others, including the deceased’s 12-year-old daughter, were also injured in the attack, they said.

A state police personnel sustained injuries during the exchange of fire that is said to have begun around 2.35 pm. The firing started from Nakhujang village in Kangpokpi district towards Kadangband and Koutruk area in Imphal West district, and continued till dusk. While Imphal West is dominated by the Meiteis, the Kuki-Zo are a majority in Kangpokpi.

Both central and state forces were rushed to the site.

Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes, alleged it was an attempt to “ambush Kuki-Zo civilians along the ‘Kanggui-Lamka’ road that led to a heavy exchange of fire “between the combined forces of Arambai Tenggol, Valley-Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs), Meitei state forces, and Kuki-Zo volunteers in Kangchup region, Sadar Hills.”

The firing comes a day after the Kuki-Zo community took out rallies in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, reiterating the demand for a “separate administration”. They protested against the viral audio clips allegedly of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, in which certain objectionable comments were made.

(Edited by Tony Rai)

Also Read: 10 chargesheeted by NIA in 2022 Mizoram arms & explosives case ‘linked to Myanmar-based insurgents’

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