Fresh firing at Tangkhul village in Manipur

Sanakeithel (Sinakeithei), a Tangkhul (Naga) village in Manipur’s Ukhrul district came under attack once again on Sunday.
Since the fresh tension erupted between the Naga and Kuki tribes in Ukhrul district after 21 passengers were held captive by Kuki groups on March 11, armed miscreants suspected to be Kuki militants have been firing toward the village randomly.
Highly reliable sources said that the armed miscreants once again fired at the village, causing fear and anxiety among the villagers. There were, however, no reports of casualty.
The reports said that the firing was initiated around 7.40 am while the villagers started converging at the church for Sunday worship, disturbing church service of the day.
Reports quoting the villagers said that the armed miscreants allegedly fired from Lungter hill range using automatic weapons toward the village.
After prayer service was disturbed, the armed miscreants once again fired several rounds of guns around 11 am when children of the village started gathering for their Sunday school classes.
As the incessant firing continued until afternoon created panic and trauma among the children, the day’s session had to be stopped, the reports said.
Heavy exchange of fire has been reported at Sanakeithel village ever since fresh tensions flared in Manipur’s Ukhrul district after a series of unfortunate incidents between the Naga and Kuki tribes on March 12.
Following the firing on Sunday, the village authority had even imposed strict restrictions to villagers venturing outside the village while asking any civilian not to enter within village jurisdiction as a precautionary measure.
It may be mentioned that fresh tensions flared in Ukhrul district earlier on Wednesday after a passenger service vehicle (Winger Van) was hijacked and the passengers, travelling from Ukhrul to Imphal, were held hostage allegedly by suspected Kuki militants at Shangkai village.
All the passengers were released unharmed in the wee hours of the next day following intense negotiations involving the state government and civil organizations from both the communities.
However, the tensions did not die down as hours after the safe release of the passengers, two missing Kuki men were found dead in the forested area of Thawai Kuki village in Kamjong district adjoining Ukhrul district.
The situation remained grim as Kuki based CSOs imposed an indefinite blockade on Imphal-Ukhrul road demanding booking of the perpetrators behind the alleged murder of the two youths and handing over of the case to NIA.
Since then, normal vehicular movement along the Imphal-Ukhrul road remained disturbed after Kuki villagers blocked the stretch of the road at various places, particularly at Shangkai village under Litan police station of Ukhrul district.