Kuki militants resume attack at Kadangband
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, August 26 2023:
After cessation of gunfight since the last incident on July 10, Kuki militants again attacked and fired several rounds at Singda Kadangband Part-1 on Friday.
Speaking to newspersons in this regard at Singda Kadangband Part-1 on Saturday, Singda Naharol Yaipha Thouni Kanglup advisor N Bobbi informed after that the last attack by Kuki militants on July 10 wherein one person was killed, no gunfights were reported in the area.
However, on Friday around 10.20 pm, Kuki militants started firing several rounds towards Singda Kadangband from three different directions.
While the 7 Manipur Rifles personnel deployed in the area retaliated the firing initially, the personnel had to stop the retaliation following orders from their top officers, he said.
Advisor Bobbi also alleged that Assam Rifles troops in the area restricted the village volunteers from defending the village with their own license guns, which is highly questionable, not to mention of the restriction on other security forces from retaliating.
Questioning whether the state government is at the mercy of Assam Rifles and the Kuki militants, Bobbi demanded removal of state and central forces from Singda Kadangband if they cannot protect the villages.
He stated that the villagers will defend the village even it involves the risk of death.
Although the central and state governments' attention on the prevailing violence is appreciated, the resumption of attacks amidst the talks for resolution should not be taken lightly, he maintained.
Demanding the state government to take appropriate action against the 22 AR deployed in the area, he invited the chief minister and the security advisor to visit the area and assess the situation, while cautioning that the people are ready to defend their village till their last breath.
Meanwhile, a combined team of Maram Battalion of Jwalamukhi Sector, IGAR (East) and Special Commando recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition during a joint search operation carried out in Dolaithabi Dam area on Friday.
According to a release of Maram Battalion, the combined team conducted the search operation in Dolaithabi Dam area from 3pm till 6pm on Friday.
During the operation, the team recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition suspected to be used by armed misoreants in the on-going conflict.
The recovered weapons included one carbine machine with magazine, one stun gun, four grenades, one Chinese grenade, three rounds of 51mm mortar illumination, 11 INSAS rounds, one tube launching grenade, two Chinese detonators, two blank cartridges of 7.62 fnm and two No 27 detonators, all of which have been subsequently handed over to Sagolmang police station.