Imphal: At least five militants were killed in a factional gunfight between two newly formed Chin-Kuki rebel outfits in the forests of Deiveijang village near Longpi, under Nungba Police Station in Noney district on Tuesday morning.
The incident site is located approximately 50 kilometres south of Nungba police station and is located deep inside the jungle. It has no motorable road with no mobile signal in the place, said police. “We have no adequate details, but a team has been deployed to the spot,” a police official said.”
Sources said the clash occurred between cadres of the United Kuki National Army (UKNA) and the Chin Kuki Mizo Army (CKMA), both of which are not signatories to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Government of India.
The deceased militants have been identified by sources as Alex, Seiboi, Pongba, Ringo, and Rambo, though authorities have yet to confirm which group the deceased belonged to.
A source said both UKNA and CKMA are recently formed groups and are mainly composed of armed elements from the Chin-Kuki community. Their operations are spread across the hill districts of Manipur and extend to parts of the Indo-Myanmar border.
Security agencies have stepped up surveillance and movement tracking in and around the incident area, but no formal statement has yet been issued by either the Manipur Police or central paramilitary forces regarding the deaths or any ongoing counter-operations.
