New Delhi: Manipur’s ethnic violence has opened a new front in the state, with a series of attacks involving the Kuki-Zo and Naga communities leaving civilians dead across several hill districts.
The violence then spread to other Naga-majority areas. The victims included a father and his son. Two others were injured in the attack. The victims were identified as Rocky Mao and Kumar Poumai. The police and local reports described the initial incident as a drunken brawl. The following day, several houses were set on fire and residents began leaving the area. Security forces were deployed and a curfew was imposed in Litan. A senior Naga political leader also accused the group of involvement in the attack. Armed mobilisation followed, civilians were caught in attacks and the conflict spread towards Kangpokpi, Tamenglong and the India-Myanmar border. Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, the Army and central armed police units, have been deployed in several affected areas. Police investigations are underway into the recent attacks. Officials are saying that security operations are being carried out against those responsible. The September attacks have included victims from both communities.
The February clash in Litan therefore became much larger than the incident that started it. A 17-year-old Liangmai Naga boy, Nk Wiphenbou, was killed in an ambush in Tamenglong district on September 21. The police recovered his body after the attack, which took place at around 10.05 am near the Tamei subdivision. Four Tangkhul Naga civilians were killed in an attack at Pilong village in Kamjong district near the Myanmar border on September 25. Two more Naga civilians were shot dead at Kalenjang village in Senapati district on September 26. On February 7, a fight broke out between youths from the Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities at Litan. The police have blamed suspected Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma militants for the September 25 killings in Pilong.
He was walking from Upper Nkou towards Malek village when armed assailants attacked him, according to reports. The police said suspected militants entered the village and opened fire on residents. The police said the two men were attacked in the house of the village chief. The Kuki National Army-Burma operates from across the Myanmar border, according to reports.
