Firing in Manipur's Ukhrul injures woman; Kuki, Tangkhul groups trade charges

Imphal, March 23: Fresh violence was reported from Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Monday after unidentified armed miscreants allegedly opened fire on civilians working in farmlands in the Litan area, leaving at least one person injured.

The incident occurred around 1 pm at Langthai Mol farmlands under Mongkot Chepu village.

According to locals of the area, gunfire was reportedly directed from nearby elevated terrain, triggering panic and forcing people to flee.

A young woman from the Kuki community sustained a bullet injury. Her condition had not been officially confirmed at the time of filing this report.

Reacting strongly, the Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul, condemned the incident, alleging it was a targeted attack on civilians.

“We strongly and unequivocally condemn the cowardly and unprovoked armed attack carried out on innocent villagers of Mongkot Chepu,” the committee said, adding that the victims, including women, were engaged in routine farming when they came under “indiscriminate and targeted gunfire”.

The committee further claimed that more than 20 villagers were trapped in the fields during the firing and described the incident as “a grave and inhumane act” and “a direct assault on civilian life and dignity”.

It also termed the attack part of a “disturbing pattern” of repeated assaults on civilians.

Calling for urgent intervention, the group urged authorities to halt the firing, rescue stranded villagers, secure the Ukhrul highway and carry out combing operations to disarm those responsible.

However, the Central Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Foothills Organisation (TNFO) rejected the allegations, calling them “misleading” and presenting a different version of events.

In a statement, the TNFO claimed that the activity in the area involved construction of drains and bunkers by Kuki volunteers, allegedly led by militants under the Suspension of Operations arrangement.

It disputed claims that those present were engaged solely in farming.

“It was not purely agricultural activity as claimed. Individuals were constructing bunkers above National Highway-202, from where attacks on Tangkhul Nagas have taken place,” the organisation said.

The TNFO also cautioned against the circulation of “conflicting and unverified narratives”, warning that such claims could aggravate tensions in an already sensitive situation.

Meanwhile, a purported video from the scene, which has circulated on social media, shows a man alleging that the gunfire originated from a bunker near a Tangkhul Naga-inhabited village. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified by The Assam Tribune.

Authorities are yet to issue a detailed statement, and there is no official confirmation on the identity of those involved or the precise sequence of events.

The incident underscores the fragile security situation in the foothill areas of Ukhrul, where tensions remain high amid competing claims and concerns over civilian safety.