Imphal: More than 35 houses were set ablaze in fresh violence near the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur’s Kamjong district, with Naga and Kuki organisations trading allegations over the attacks that displaced villagers and refugees from Myanmar.
The violence occurred near International Border Pillar 102 and unfolded in two phases, targeting multiple villages in the border region.
According to reports, unidentified armed persons first attacked Phaimol Kuki village at around noon, setting fire to about 15 houses. The violence later spread to the Tangkhul Naga villages of Kongkan Thana and Sangkalok, where another 20 houses, including shelters housing more than 200 Myanmar refugees, were torched.
The incidents forced hundreds of residents and displaced Myanmar nationals to flee the affected villages.
The attacks triggered a blame game between Naga and Kuki organisations.
The Eastern Command-Naga Village Guard (EC-NVG) alleged that the Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) and armed Kuki militants were responsible for the attacks. It claimed that Phaimol village was deliberately set on fire as a pretext to launch attacks on the Naga villages of Kongkan Thana and Sangkalok.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), however, condemned the burning of Phaimol village and alleged that cadres of the NSCN (IM) were behind the attack. They also questioned the security arrangements in the area, claiming that Assam Rifles personnel had withdrawn from the locality a day before the incident.
This reporter and Northeast Now could not independently verify the competing claims made by the two sides.
Both Naga and Kuki organisations have urged the Centre and the Manipur government to intervene and restore normalcy in the border region.