Manipur violence: Armed miscreants unleash sporadic gunfire in Kangpokpi district

Although security forces in Manipur have started combing operations to recover looted weapons, in a fresh case of violence, armed groups unleashed sporadic gunfire upon the residents of Phaimpl and Twichin, two neighbouring villages in the Kangpokpi district. 

As per sources, the village volunteers chose not to respond to the armed miscreant's provocation, which led the armed group to advance towards the villages with hostile intent around 8:30 AM on October 12. 

Fortunately, security forces stationed in the buffer zone successfully deterred the armed groups from advancing any further. 

Sources claim that the armed groups have resorted to their typical tactics by firing upon the villages in an attempt to incite the Kuki-Zo village volunteers. However, when they received no retaliatory fire, they ventured closer to the village in an effort to provoke the volunteers. 

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The ITLF media cell claims that media outlets were poised to publish a ready-made news report, blaming the Kuki-Zo volunteers for an alleged attack on a Meitei village. This fabricated news quickly spread, attracting more armed miscreants with sophisticated weapons who headed towards Yaingangpokpi. 

To ensure a safe passage for reinforcements, women groups also obstructed the security forces at Sabungkhok until all miscreants, arriving in approximately 30-40 vehicles from Imphal, had passed through. 

Once the miscreants regrouped, they made another attempt to attack the villagers of Phaintoland Twichin. 

Notably at around 2:45 PM, a second round of attacks commenced, however, at the time of this report, no casualties had been reported, stated ITLF media cell.