Correspondent
IMPHAL, May 31: A youth was wounded on Sunday morning after armed miscreants suspected to be Kuki militants fired upon a group of villagers in yet another gun violence incident in highly tense Manipur’s Kangpokpi district.
The incident took place in the vicinity of Konsakhul (Konsaram), a Liangmai Naga village, in Kangpokpi district today, around 10.30 am. Other villagers escaped unhurt.
The wounded youth, identified as Kachiaklungbou Chawang (24), was admitted at RIMS hospital, Imphal with bullet injuries.
Reports said that the armed miscreants fired upon a group of three village youths who went to repair a water supply pipe to their village which was allegedly damaged by unknown miscreants on the previous day.
The trio was ambushed on their way and two of them who went missing after the unprovoked firing later returned home safely.
The latest attack came amid the escalating tensions between the Nagas and Kukis in the district following the disappearance of six residents of the same Konsakhul after they were abducted by suspected Kuki militants on May 13, the day three Thadou church leaders were killed in an ambush by armed miscreants. The chairman of Konsakhul Village Authority D Adam, while blaming cadres of KNF (P) for the attack, alleged that targeting civilians was a “cowardly and inhuman act.” The chairman said that villagers had gone to inspect the village’s water supply line after water flow was disrupted.
The militants attacked them while inspecting the water pipes, he said, urging pertinent authorities to take immediate and decisive action against those responsible for the attack.
He warned that continued attacks on innocent civilians could further escalate tensions and potentially lead to a civil-war-like situation in the region. The chairman stressed the need for prompt intervention to prevent further deterioration of peace and security.
The Konsakhul Village Authority also blamed the cadres of KNF (P) militants behind today’s attack while alleging the villagers of neighbouring Leilon (Vaiphei-Kuki) collaborated with the cadres.
Describing the attack as “barbaric and inhumane,” the village authority said the assault on a Sunday – a day of worship for Christians – violates both human rights and Christian values.”
It also noted that the village was still reeling from the earlier abduction of 18 civilians, out of which six of them were yet to be traced.
The villager authority urged the government and security agencies to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of villagers, restore essential services, conduct a thorough investigation, and bring those responsible to justice.
It also appealed to civil society organizations and human rights bodies to intervene and support the protection of the lives and rights of the people of Kongsakhul.