Armed militants torch houses in Manipur's Kamjong district, residents flee

Imphal: Heavily armed militants attacked villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district near the India-Myanmar border on Thursday morning, torching houses and forcing residents to flee, officials said.

According to police, the militants attacked the Tangkhul Naga villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro within Kasom Khullen police station area around 4 am, prompting residents of the border settlements to take shelter in nearby forests.

The villages are located less than a kilometre from the international border.

At least one elderly woman sustained injuries while attempting to flee during the attack, officials said.

According to villagers, two houses in Namlee, three to four houses in Wanglee and several houses in Choro, except for a church, were reduced to ashes.

Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, later reached the area to assess the situation.

Phungyar MLA L Keishing alleged that the attack was carried out from across the border by Myanmar-based militant groups Kuki National Army (Burma) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF).

"So far, the state had been seeing internal conflicts, but today there has been external aggression. A combined force of Kuki National Army-B and People’s Defence Force attacked four to five border villages at 3.30 am," Keishing told reporters.

"Several houses have been reduced to ashes, though there have been no fatalities. Two persons, including a woman, remain untraceable. Eyewitnesses said they were taken away by the armed militants," the Naga People’s Front legislator claimed.

Calling it an “external aggression”, the MLA said both the state and central governments should not remain silent.

"There is no presence of Manipur Police in the area," he alleged.

Keishing accused the Assam Rifles of failing to protect the villages.

"Assam Rifles troops visited the villages yesterday, and the attack happened today. Villagers have expressed frustration over the developments," he said.

Meanwhile, the Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long (TAKL), also known as the Southern Tangkhul Students’ Union, expressed "extreme urgency and outrage" over the attacks on Tangkhul Naga border villages by alleged Kuki militants operating under the Kuki National Army-Burma.

The student body alleged that around 100 armed KNA-B militants crossed the Indo-Myanmar border into Kamjong district and attacked villages including Namlee, Wanglee, Ashang Khullen and Choro.

It demanded that the state government immediately deploy Manipur Police commandos in the affected villages and demanded an immediate explanation regarding the alleged security lapse that allowed around 100 armed militants to cross the international boundary undetected.