Gunfight breaks out between armed groups in Manipur's Kangpokpi

Suspected cadres of the banned Zeliangrong United Front (S Kamson), who went to destroy an alleged illicit poppy cultivation at Kharam Vaiphei, engaged in a gunfight with armed Kuki underground groups, officials said.

Imphal: A gunfight broke out between two armed groups on Thursday morning in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said.

Suspected cadres of the banned Zeliangrong United Front (S Kamson), who went to destroy an alleged illicit poppy cultivation at Kharam Vaiphei, engaged in a gunfight with armed Kuki underground groups, they said.

There is no report of any casualty in the firing, officials said, adding that firing has stopped.

Additional security forces have been rushed to the peripheral areas.

The sound of firing created tension and panic in the peripheral villages of Imphal West district, which share boundaries with Kangpokpi district and have witnessed large-scale gunfights between Kuki and Meitei groups in 2023 and 2024.

Meanwhile, ZUF S Kamson, in a statement, said it engaged in a gunfight at around 7.40 am at Kharam Vaiphei with armed Kuki groups, where unlawful activities, including illicit poppy cultivation and setting up of underground camps of Kuki Suspension of Operations groups, have been reported.

More than 260 people have been killed in ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023.

The violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.