GUWAHATI: Seven security personnel were injured during a gunfight with unidentified miscreants near Moreh in Manipur on Tuesday morning with Chief Minister N Biren Singh suspecting the involvement of mercenaries from Myanmar in the incident.
Of the seven, four are police commandos while three are from Border Security Force (BSF). The four commandos and one BSF jawan were airlifted to Imphal and admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences.
The gunfight occurred after two persons were picked up by the police for reasons not known. Local women made an attempt to secure the duo’s release and soon, the unidentified gunmen opened fire targeting the security personnel and they retaliated.
The site of the incident is very close to the India-Myanmar border.
The CM said reinforcements had been sent to Moreh while a search operation was going on “widely”. He said it was being carried out jointly by state and central forces.
“We suspect the involvement of foreign mercenaries from Myanmar side in the incident. Multiple sources have told us this. The involvement of KNA-B is highly possible,” Singh said.
Kuki National Army operates two armed wings, one in India while the other in Myanmar, known as KNA-B.
“It is our commitment to the people of the state and India that we will not succumb to this kind of threat and aggression. We will take necessary possible measures to counter such terrorist activities,” Singh said.
Further, the CM said that the state government had been in touch with the central ministry concerned. He said whatever the state government was doing in Moreh and other parts of the state was with the consent and approval of the Centre.
Moreh has remained on the boil for the past few days amid intermittent gunfights between police commandos and suspected militants.
The latest attack comes just hours after four civilians were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Lilong in Thoubal district of the Imphal valley on Monday evening. At least 10 others were also injured.
The ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis, which broke out on May 3 after a tribal solidarity march, left 200 people dead and 60,000 others displaced.