Heavily armed militants attacked villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district near the India-Myanmar border early on Thursday, torching houses and forcing residents to flee into nearby forests, officials said.
The attack targeted Tangkhul Naga villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro under Kasom Khullen police station around 4 am. The settlements are located less than a kilometre from the international border.
Police said villagers fled their homes as militants set fire to multiple houses. At least one elderly woman sustained injuries while attempting to escape.
Residents claimed that two houses in Namlee, three to four in Wanglee and several in Choro were reduced to ashes, with only a church in the latter village left untouched.
Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, later reached the affected areas to assess the situation and secure the region.
Phungyar MLA L Keishing alleged that the attack was carried out by Myanmar-based militant groups, including the Kuki National Army (Burma) and the People’s Defence Force.
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“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,” he said.
“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 the incident “external aggression”, Keishing urged both the state and central governments to respond decisively.
“There is no presence of Manipur Police in the area,” he alleged, while also accusing the Assam Rifles of failing to prevent the attack.
“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.
The organisation alleged that around 100 armed militants linked to the Kuki National Army-B crossed the Indo-Myanmar border and attacked villages including Namlee, Wanglee, Ashang Khullen and Choro.
It demanded immediate deployment of Manipur Police commandos in the affected areas and sought an explanation for the alleged security lapse that allowed militants to cross the border undetected.
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