Mother, daughter injured in Manipur gunfight; three houses set ablaze

A 56-year-old woman and her eight-year-old daughter were injured in a gunfight between two armed groups in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Sunday, while at least three houses were set ablaze in a nearby village in a fresh flare-up of violence in the ethnic conflict-hit state.

Police said the gunfight broke out around 5.10 pm at Thingkhogjang village near the Imphal-Silchar National Highway.

According to officials, the clash involved the Kuki National Front-Presidential (KNF-P) and the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), both Kuki insurgent groups that are signatories to a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the government. Officials said the exchange of fire began after the KNF-P allegedly attacked a KRA camp.

The injured woman and her daughter were referred to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal for treatment. Hospital authorities said both sustained bullet injuries to their thighs and were in a stable condition.

Around the same time, at least three houses were set on fire in nearby Setjang village, police said.

The Kuki-Inpi Manipur, a civil body, condemned the incident as "barbaric" and "cowardly", alleging that insurgent groups, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), were responsible for the attack.

The organisation said the police and district administration had earlier assured the security of villages in Kangpokpi district under an understanding with the state government, adding that those assurances had now been breached. It demanded an immediate, transparent, impartial and time-bound investigation into the incident.

Tensions between Naga and Kuki groups have escalated since the twin ambushes in Noney and Kangpokpi on 13 May, in which three church leaders and a Naga man were killed. The killings triggered protests and highway blockades by Naga groups following the recovery of the mutilated bodies of six Nagas.

The six were among 48 people abducted by separate Kuki and Naga groups after the attacks. While all Kuki hostages and 14 Naga hostages were later released, the incident further strained relations between the communities.

Manipur has remained divided since ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in May 2023. The conflict has since spread to involve other communities, leaving at least 260 people dead and displacing around 60,000.

A new state government was formed in February, nearly a year after President's Rule was imposed, with representatives from the state's three major communities included in an effort to maintain ethnic balance.