Naga village attacked; two houses torched in Manipur

IMPHAL, Sep 16: Barely a day after two women were killed at a Kuki inhabited village in the adjacent Tamenglong district , suspected militants torched at least two houses of a Naga village as violence continued unabated in the hill region of troubled Manipur.
No human casualty was reported in the latest attack reported at Chawangkining, a Liangmai Naga village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district surrounded by Kuki villages.
Reports citing Chawangkining Village Authority said that the firing began late Tuesday, around 10.30 pm, and continued until around 4.50 am the next day (Wednesday).
Village volunteers armed with single and double bore guns returned the firing in a bid to prevent the attackers from entering and attacking the villagers.
It was only after the CRPF personnel stationed at a security post in the outskirts of the village arrived, that attackers were forced to retreat after a brief exchange of fire.
In the attack, two houses belonging to Daniel Charenamai and Gaithoulung Panmei in the vicinity of the village were razed while partial damages were inflicted on several houses with bullet marks.
Strongly decrying the deadly attack at Muktakhal (Leisangphai) in Tamenglong district bordering Jiribam, Kangpokpi residents on Tuesday held a protest by blocking vehicular movement along the Imphal-Dimapur section of NH-2.
A large number of people, mostly youths, came out onto NH-2 and blocked the road by burning debris, piling stones and stretching logs on the road.
Protesters also imposed a road blockade in other roads connecting the district headquarters as well as in Kuki-dominated areas in Noney and Tamenglong districts
In videos circulated on the internet, protesters were seen blocking the road even as security forces were dispersing them.
No major untoward incident related to the protest was reported till the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur (LNC-M), in a statement, condemned the latest attack on Naga village while alleging involvement of Kuki militants Suspension of Operations (SoO) behind the firing at Chawangkining village.
Alleging that several houses were damaged, the LNC-M accused the Kangpokpi district police of not responding despite repeated distress calls from the villagers.
The council called for legal action against those responsible while demanding action against the Kuki militants lodged at Songtung SoO camp, alleging that the attack originated from there.