Militants Attack Naga Village in Manipur's Kangpokpi, Torch Houses; Six-Hour Gunfight With CRPF
Suspected militants stormed a Naga village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district late Tuesday night, setting fire to at least two houses during a prolonged exchange of fire with security forces, officials said on Wednesday.
According to an official, a large group of heavily armed militants attacked Chawangkining Naga village around 10.30 pm, just hours after two Kuki women were shot dead in Leisangphai, in the neighbouring Tamenglong district. CRPF personnel stationed near the village returned fire as the attackers attempted to push in.
The gunfight stretched on intermittently for nearly six hours, lasting until around 4.30 am on Wednesday, with CRPF fire holding the militants back from overrunning the village. Two wooden structures on the village's edge were burnt down in the process, though the attackers were kept from advancing further.
A resident of the village, Daniel Charenamai, described a night of sustained firing that lasted from the initial attack until nearly dawn, crediting the CRPF's response with preventing the village from being overrun.
The twin incidents — the killing of the two women and the attack on Chawangkining — drew sharp condemnation from political leaders across community lines. Naga Peoples' Front legislator Awangbou Newmai denounced the violence, calling such acts incapable of benefiting any community. Separately, the Kuki MLA from Kangpokpi's Saikul constituency condemned the killing of the two women, noting that one of the victims had recently completed her nursing degree. She alleged the involvement of NSCN-IM and ZUF-K cadres in the killings, describing the act as brutal violence that no political cause or grievance could justify.
