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3 killed in 2 gunfights as fresh tensions erupt in Manipur’s Ukhrul
Deceased were latest casualties of ongoing tensions between Tangkhul Nagas and Kukis that boiled over in February this year
Police said that another gunfight broke out close by, at Mullam village in Ukhrul. (Express photo)
Fresh tension erupted in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, killing at least three people in two separate gunfights on Friday.
According to police, one of the gunfights broke out between armed men from the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities in the early hours of Friday near Sinakeithei village of Ukhrul district.
A Tangkhul man, identified as Horshokmi Jamang (29), a resident of Chatric Khullen village in Kamjong district, was killed in the gunfight. According to sources from the ground, three civilians were also injured in Sinakeithei.
Police said that another gunfight broke out close by, in Mullam village in Ukhrul. Mullam is a Kuki-inhabited village, and authorities identified two men killed in the gunfight there as Letlal Sitlhou, alias James Kuki of K Khonom village, and Paominlun Haolao, alias Hitlal Kuki of Haijang village, both from Kangpokpi district.
On the Sinakeithei incident, the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), a Naga body, alleged, “Following constant movement and disruption along Sirarakhong and Sinakeithei by armed Kuki cadres under SoO and other Kuki militant groups, the Naga village guards posted near Sirarakhong had gone out for patrol between Sirarakhong and Sinakeithei when they were ambushed by the Kuki cadres under SoO along with other suspected militants belonging to the Kuki community.”
On the Mullam incident, a statement issued by the village authority alleged “Tangkhul militants” attacked the village at around 5.30 am on Friday.
The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust condemned the killing of “two village volunteers” and the burning of houses at Mullam and Songphal villages.
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Ukhrul, a Tangkhul Naga-majority district, has been witnessing tensions and violence between the local Tangkhul and Kuki communities since February this year, opening up a new front of violence in a state that has already been in the throes of conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since 2013.
Last week, two Tangkhul persons were killed in an ambush by militants in Ukhrul district and on the same day, another gunfight had taken place in Sinakeithei.
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