GUWAHATI: One person was killed while four others were injured in an alleged militant attack in Manipur on Saturday.
The attack took place in the afternoon at Chassad, a Kuki village in the Naga-majority Kamjong district bordering Myanmar.
The deceased was identified as Seikhohao Haokip, 35, and the injured as Chassad village chief Thangjahou Haokip, Phungtha village chief Seipao Haokip, Chassad Village Authority secretary Thanggin Thouthang, and Village Authority member St Khailun Haokip.
Seipao Haokip had fled his village earlier in the face of alleged threats and violence and is living as an internally displaced person.
The injured were rescued by Assam Rifles personnel and were being treated at a hospital run by the paramilitary force in Chassad.
Officials could not be reached for comment on the incident. No statement was issued by the government or the police. Kukis alleged that the rebels ambushed the persons when they had gone to repair power lines.
The Committee on Tribal Unity, Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi district, expressed deep anguish and condemned the “cowardly action of the armed Tangkhul-led militants” against innocent civilians.
The organisation urged the government to deploy central security forces to Kuki villages, specifically Chassad.
Manipur has witnessed a series of attacks since February this year, in which many lives were lost. Most of the attacks were carried out in Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district, and Kamjong.
On October 9 and 10, a total of nine people, including a member of the Gorkha community, were killed in Kamjong, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts. The violence has continued despite appeals by the state government to maintain peace.
Recently, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh appealed to public leaders and civil society organisations from different communities to prioritise peace, dialogue and harmony.