Kuki militants launch attack after peace deal
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 03 2024: Tensions flared in Lalpani village on Friday night as Kuki militants launched a violent attack, torching two houses, fired guns and exploded bombs, just a day after Hmar and Meetei groups signed a peace agreement aimed at de-escalating tensions in the district.

The attack, which occurred ar around 7 pm, has drawn widespread condemnation from various organisations.

According to local sources, armed Kuki militants from Seijang Kuki village set fire to the house of Y Joykumar, a 43-year-old resident of Lalpani Part 2 .

The arson was followed by a fierce assault using guns and bombs, creating panic among the villagers.

At around 10 pm, when local residents attempted to enter the area, they were met with another round of attacks from Kuki militants, who continued to fire upon them from Seijang village.

The intensity of the violence forced residents of nearby villages to flee to safer locations.

In a particularly alarming incident, the militants fired 51 mm mortar illumination rounds, commonly used as a searchlight, with one of the bombs landing on the porch of Md Sanaul Haque, a Bengali Muslim resident of Lalpani Part 1 .

According to Haque, his family, including young children, were in a state of panic and took shelter in the common room.

Around 10:30 pm, the mortar bomb crashed through their roofing sheet, landing on the porch.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Jiribam district police did not arrive at the scene until 10 am of the following day.

In the meantime, a team from Assam Rifles (AR) arrived and attempted to remove the mortar shell, but local residents insisted on waiting for the police.

After waiting for some time and with no police presence, the AR team eventually took the shell away.

All Jiribam Muslim Welfare Society has strongly condemned the escalation of violence.

Spokesperson Md Bahar Uddin expressed the Bengali community's deep concern, stating that if similar incidents occur in the future, then Bengali residents of Sonapur and Lalpani may be forced to form their own volunteer defence teams.

He also criticised the district police for their delayed response, decrying their failure to collect the mortar shell despite the situation being reported.

This violent outbreak has cast a shadow over the recent peace efforts between the Hmar and Meetei groups, highlighting the fragile state of security in the district in particular and the state as a whole, and the ongoing ethnic tensions that continue to disrupt the lives of local residents.

Hmar Inpui had also dissolved its Jiribam unit for signing the peace deal.

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