1 killed as eight villages attacked in Mnp hills

IMPHAL, SEP 23 (NPN): Violence escalated in Manipur’s hill districts on Wednesday as at least eight villages—five Naga‑inhabited and three Kuki‑inhabited—came under attack, leaving one villager dead and several houses torched.
Heavy exchanges of fire between attackers and village volunteers were reported in some areas. Except for the fatality, no other human casualties were confirmed in the incidents across Tamenglong, Noney, and Kangpokpi districts early Wednesday morning.
The deceased, identified as Paojangam Chongloi (36) of Wakotphai village, was an electricity lineman killed during attacks on three Kuki villages—Lasan, Songpibung, and T Kholmun—along the IT Road in Tamenglong district bordering Kangpokpi. He sustained fatal bullet injuries while on duty repairing damaged power lines near Lasan.
Local sources said the villages came under attack around 4 a.m. with heavy firing. Chongloi, en route to Lasan, was caught in the assault and succumbed to his injuries. Following the incident, Lasan village chief Goukhoumang Lhouvum lodged a complaint at Kangpokpi police station seeking a Zero FIR.
Around the same time, five Naga‑inhabited villages along the tri‑district border of Tamenglong, Noney, and Kangpokpi were attacked by suspected militants, who set several houses ablaze before retreating under retaliation from village volunteers. The affected villages included Makui Chamriupiu, Langka, and Thanamba in Kangpokpi district, and Tazeikaiphun Part‑3 and Kapningching Mukti Part‑5 in Noney district.
Of these, Makui Thanamba and Makui Chamriupiu had already been abandoned days earlier due to threats. Residents had taken shelter at Makui Khunjao, about 12 km away. Reports said the attackers attempted to storm Makui Khunjao after torching the abandoned villages, but were repelled by armed volunteers after brief cross‑firing.
Meanwhile, three other Naga villages in Noney district also came under attack around 5 a.m. forcing villagers to flee into nearby forests. Search operations were launched after some failed to return even after the firing ceased.
The Makui Chamriupiu village authority, in a statement, alleged that the coordinated assault was carried out by armed cadres of KNF(P), KNF(N), and KRA. It accused authorities of failing to protect vulnerable villages despite repeated requests for security cover, especially against militants under Suspension of Operation (SoO) with the government.
Separately, two more Naga villages under Nungba police station in Noney district were attacked. Four houses at Kapningching Mukti Part‑5 were burnt before volunteers retaliated. At Tazeikaiphun Part‑3, firing lasted for more than two hours before Assam Rifles and Nungba police arrived to secure the area and initiate investigation.
Villagers of Tazeikaiphun claimed that ammunition recovered after the exchange bore head‑stamp markings linked to Indian ordnance factories, including “KF” (Ammunition Factory Khadki, Maharashtra) and “OFV” (Ordnance Factory Varangaon).
They demanded forensic examination and verification by competent authorities to determine how such state‑manufactured ammunition reached armed groups.