Tangkhul Nagas' houses near Myanmar border in Manipur torched by militants

Guwahati: Several houses of Tangkhul Nagas were burnt down in Kongkan Thana and Shangkalok of Kamjong district in Manipur on Wednesday. A senior police officer said: "We are assessing the damage's extent."

Speaking to the media after the incident, Phungyar MLA Leishiyo Keishing said the villages are close to the area where militant groups - Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) and the People's Defence Force (PDF) - are active. Information flow and movement of security forces in the area is very limited, he said.

He alleged that at least 12 houses and a small market area were set ablaze by the suspected KNA-B cadres, who had crossed over from the Myanmar side of the border on Wednesday.


The MLA said central security forces are reviewing the situation and attempting to bring the area under control and urged the state government to strengthen deployment in the region.

According to sources, villagers were not present at the time of the incident as they had taken temporary shelter in a nearby village for over a week.

Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki community, condemned the arson and said the attacks were carried out by outfits operating from across the border in Myanmar. It said the continued destruction of villages cannot be dismissed as sporadic law-and-order incidents and reflects a serious security failure requiring urgent intervention.

Remove blockade: Kuki-Zos

Meanwhile, Kuki-Zo organisations took out a rally demanding removal of the blockade from highways for the second consecutive day. Kangpokpi district in Manipur has been tense following the protest by Kuki-Zo people. They staged a march till the buffer zone in Gamgiphai. On Monday, hundreds of torch-bearing Naga women blocked security forces from escorting vehicles carrying essential commodities to Kuki-inhabited areas.

The blockade, which started due to the hostage crisis in Manipur last month, has resulted in the disruption of supply of LPG cylinders, which are now being sold in the black market at ₹5,000 a cylinder, while 50 kg rice is selling at around ₹1,500.

On Wednesday, CRPF's elite Cobra battalion conducted a flag march in Imphal West.