Manipur: Two killed in firing between security forces and armed men

At least two people were killed and over 50 injured on Friday during two firing incidents between the security forces and armed miscreants at East Pallel in the Tengnoupal district and a scuffle between women groups and security forces.

Firing between security forces and armed miscreants took place in the Thamlapokpi village located towards Moreh around 7 am and continued till 1 pm.

After the incident, a scuffle took place when the locals rushed to Pallel, mostly Meira Paibis (women groups), and tried to remove the barricade set up by security forces. This led to a scuffle andover 50 people were injured after security forces fired tear gas shells to diffuse the situation. Several security personnel were also injured.


Thoubal and Kakching District Apunba Lup (TAKDAL) announced a statewide shutdown against the government's failure to solve the crisis.


In a post on X, Manipur police said, "There are posts on social media regarding exchange of fire between Kuki militants and Metei village volunteers, which is not correct. It is clarified that the incident was related to firing between security forces and armed miscreants at Pallel."

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a leading tribal organisation in Manipur, took to X and said, "Around 7:00 am on Friday, September 8, 2023, Meitei gunmen dressed in military combat uniforms began firing at the village from a nearby hill. Village guards and some IRB personnel stationed near the village returned fire on the militants. After a while, reinforcements from the Assam Rifles,@official_dgar reached the village."

However, Kh Athouba, Coordinator of Valley based civil society organisation, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) said the first round of firing were fired from the hill top to the plains where the Meitei reside.