Five killed in gun battle during intra-group conflict in Manipur

Guwahati: In an intra group fight five cadres of a militant group were killed in a fierce gun battle that broke at Deiveijang village under Noney district of Manipur.

A senior official who does not want to be named told ET, “It is an intra-group fight of a militant outfit. The fight is of the Chin Kuki Mizo Army (CKMA), which is a non-Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement group.”

The officer said, “It is a very remote area and hardly any communication is there. A police team is on the way to the area. The deceased have been identified as Alex, Seiboi, Pongba, Ringo, and Rambo".


He added that the outfit is newly formed, and the reason for the feud seems to be a leadership issue. The operational areas include Manipur’s hill districts and parts of the Indo-Myanmar border.

On June 30 this year three people from the Kuki National Army (KNA) and a bystander were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen in the restive Churachandpur district of Manipur.

One Thahpi Haokip, believed to be a commander of the Kuki National Army (KNA) and two of his associates were killed. A 60-year-old woman who was caught in the crossfire, also died.

KNA is a militant outfit presently under Suspension of Operation (SOO). There are scores of outfits under SOO.

Meanwhile the security forces in Manipur arrested eight militants of different outfits and recovered many arms and ammunition during the past 24 hours.

A police officer said that eight arrested extremists belong to United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) and Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), and they were arrested from Tengnoupal and Imphal East districts.

A car, Indian and Nepalese currencies, mobile phones, SIM cards, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards were recovered from the possession of the arrested militants.

Of the eight arrested militants, three KCP militants were arrested from India-Myanmar border areas under the hilly Tengnoupal district.

The security forces also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from mountainous Kangpokpi district. The recovered arms include an INSAS rifle with magazine, a .303 rifle, a lathode, a .32 pistol with magazine, four bolt-action rifles, an M16 rifle, an MA1 assault rifle, a sniper rifle, a .32 bore pistol, and seven single-barrel rifles.

Four hand grenades were also recovered in the operation, which was carried out in Tingkai Khullen, Maohing and Changoubung villages of the district, the police official said.

Security forces continue to conduct search operations and area domination in the fringe and vulnerable areas across districts in Imphal valley and hilly regions.