Northeast Desk, 14th February: Armed men on Wednesday morning launched an attack on Sugnu village in Manipur’s Kakching district, sparking a gunfight with village volunteers stationed in the area, officials reported.
As of now, no injuries have been reported, but sporadic firing continues, according to police sources.
“Several armed individuals fired shots towards Sugnu, prompting a response from the village volunteers,” stated the police.
To prevent the situation from escalating further, additional security personnel have been deployed in the region.
This incident follows a violent clash the previous day, during which a 25-year-old village volunteer was killed and two others were injured in a gunfight between two rival communities at Pukhao Shantipur in Imphal East district.
In a separate incident in the same district, an army officer sustained gunshot injuries while a team of security personnel was en route to control a violent situation.
Since ethnic violence erupted on May 3 last year, more than 180 people have lost their lives in Manipur. The violence initially erupted following a tribal solidarity march organized in protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The Meiteis, constituting about 53 percent of Manipur’s population and primarily residing in the Imphal Valley, clashed with tribal groups like the Nagas and Kukis, who make up 40 percent of the population and reside mainly in hilly districts.
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