Kuki militants attack Jiribam, Sugnu villages
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, September 08 2024: After a man was killed by armed Kuki militants while he was asleep on Saturday morning followed by gun battle in Jiribam district, Kuki militants launched more attacks on Meetei villages on Sunday.

According to our Jiribam correspondent, Kuki militants began their attack in the wee hours, using automatic weapons and explosives, which state forces stationed at Mongbung Meetei village responded, resulting in a gun battle lasting for over half an hour.

Fortunately, there were no reports of casualties.

The police also recovered unexploded bombs fired by the Kuki militants.

Later around 5 pm, the armed Kuki militants launched another assault on Mongbung Meetei village, using bombs.

After a brief halt, the attacks resumed from around 6:30 pm, with both bomb and gunfire directed at the village.

Kuki militants also launched fresh round of assault on Sugnu and Tangjeng villages on Sunday evening, using assault rifles and explosives to attack civilians.

The assault began around 8 pm, with militants firing from multiple locations, including G Songel, Leishan Tampak, Lalloipha, Dongyang, Tangjeng Ahallup, and the western side of Manipur River.

The attack targeted the areas under Sugnu, Tangjeng Khunjao, and Khaobuk villages.

State security forces, along with village volunteers stationed in the area, retaliated to defend the villages.

A fierce gunfight was ongoing at the time of filing this report, with heavy exchange of gunfire between the militants and the security forces.

The situation remains tense, and no official reports of casualties have been released.

The ongoing violence is part of the broader conflict that has affected several parts of Manipur in recent months, raising concerns over the safety of civilians in these vulnerable areas.

Meanwhile, in support and uplift of morale of the village volunteers and residents of Koutruk village, who are among the worst-affected in the ongoing crisis, Contractor Association RIMS delivered mattresses, drinking water, rice, lentils and other essentials on Sunday.

Speaking during a simple distribution programme, Koutruk Apunba Lup secretary Leishangthem Khelendro informed that regardless of the distressful situation and suffering since outbreak of the communal violence on May 3 last year, villagers had been maintaining vigilance to counter attacks by Kuki narco-terrorists.

Recently, these militants adopted a new strategy of using drone bombs to target the Meeteis, further exacerbating suffering of the villagers.

He said Kuki militants have been employing drones continuously, both day and night, around Meetei villages, creating problems for the local population.

The use of drone jammers by the millitants has prevented the Meeteis from deploying their own drones to monitor the Kuki positions.

Consequently, it appears as though the Kuki militants are exerting control over Meetei villages through their drone operations.

While asserting that the Meetei village volunteers are struggling to protect the community due to inability to locate positions of Kuki militants, Khelendro urged relevant authorities to provide a drone jammer for Koutruk to counter the Kuki militants' drone operations.

Alternatively, he suggested that the public could contribute funds to acquire a drone jammer for this purpose.

Contractor Association RIMS secretary Maimom Manikanta, who was also present on the occasion, stated that the association decided to extend essential items to the villagers of Koutruk and the village volunteers in response to the ongoing challenges they face from continuous attacks and drone bombings by armed Kuki militants.

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