A woman was killed and her 12-year-old daughter was among 10 injured, including two policemen and a TV reporter, in firing by "suspected Kuki militants" in Manipur on Sunday, the state police and the Home Department said in separate statements. The Home Department said a man was also killed in the attack, taking the number of dead to two.
The attack was carried out using snipers and bombs dropped by drones, top intelligence sources told NDTV today, confirming what eyewitnesses said earlier today. The use of drones to drop bombs on a civilian area in the state hit by ethnic violence is a huge, frightening escalation, the sources said.
The drones were earlier suspected to have been used as spotters, while the crude artillery "pumpi guns" fired the shells that landed right near where the drones flew, giving the impression that the drones dropped the bombs, sources had said.
However, the confirmation by top sources in the security establishment on the use of drones to drop bombs has - for the first time - raised the threat to unprecedented levels to the security forces and civilians in the area.
One of the policemen was hit in the leg by a shrapnel from a bomb dropped by a drone and at least two weaponised drones were seen, police sources said. The firing started from Nakhujang village in Kangpokpi towards Kadangband in Imphal West at 2.35 pm, sources said. Residents in Kadangband said at least one drone dropped a "bomb" on a house in the area, and shared purported visuals of the attack that showed people running.
"... Alleged Kuki militants have deployed numerous RPGs using high-tech drones. While drone bombs have commonly been used in general warfare, this recent deployment of drones to deploy explosives against security forces and the civilians marks a significant escalation," the Manipur Police said in a post on X.
A man shows a part of what appears to be a mortar round that landed in a house in Kadangband
The woman, Ngangbam Surbala, 31, was brought dead at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the state capital Imphal, 45 km from Kangpokpi. Her injured daughter is in the hospital.
Kangpokpi is a Kuki-dominated area, while Imphal West is in the Meitei-dominated valley. The Kuki tribes and the Meitei community have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues.
The Manipur Home Department in the statement condemned the attack. "... The unfortunate incident of attack on unarmed Koutruk villagers using drone, bombs and many sophisticated weapons... reportedly by Kuki militants causing death of two persons including one woman and injuries to many. Such act of terrorising unarmed villagers is viewed very seriously by the state government, when it is putting all possible efforts towards bringing normalcy and peace in the state," the Home Department said.
Who Started Firing? Allegations Fly
While members of the Meitei community claimed "Kuki terrorists" killed the woman, social media users from the Kuki tribes alleged the Meiteis began firing at Kuki villages in Kangpokpi first. Members of the Kuki tribes alleged the incident comes just days after purported audio tapes of the Chief Minister - now submitted to a probe panel of the Home Ministry - "proved" the Chief Minister started the Manipur crisis. The state government has called the tapes "doctored".
Sanajaoba Leishemba, Rajya Sabha MP from Manipur, in a post on X alleged the attacks were carried out by "Kuki militants."
"Heavy attacks and bombarding using drones by Kuki militants at Koutruk village, I/W [Imphal West] Manipur killed one Meitei woman and many injured including minor daughter of the deceased, state police and media person today," Mr Leishemba said.
Manipur Congress vice president Lamtinthang Haokip, who belongs to the Kuki tribe, in a post on X alleged an attempt to ambush between Leimakhong and Kangchup route was thwarted by Kuki village volunteers, resulting in an exchange of fire.
He alleged the incident was a "BJP game" to divert attention from the audio tape controversy linked to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who is from the ruling BJP and belongs to the Meitei community.
The Kuki Inpi in a statement alleged valley-based armed groups supported by state forces tried to ambush a key road used by members of the Kuki tribes, following which "Kuki-Zo volunteers" retaliated.
Both sides have shared purported visuals of today's incidents from different angles.
The roof of a house which the locals claimed was damaged by a bomb dropped using a drone
The clashes between the valley-dominant Meitei community and nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.
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