Three individuals sustained injuries in a gunfight within Manipur’s Kamjong district on Saturday, while two Tangkhul Naga settlements were consumed by fire amid escalating tensions. The unrest followed an earlier armed clash in Chassad between factions from the Kuki and Naga communities, which resulted in the death of a 36-year-old Kuki man and left four others wounded.
Police stated that the subsequent attack on a Tangkhul Naga village in Kamjong district was suspected to be retaliatory. During the ensuing exchange of gunfire, three Naga men suffered gunshot wounds and were subsequently transported to Kamjong Hospital for medical treatment. Authorities identified the wounded individuals as T. Chithung from Ningchou alongside S. Malung and M. Shithung from Bungpa Khullen.
A statement released by the Naga Village Guard-Eastern Command alleged that Kuki militants opened unprovoked heavy fire toward settlement areas of Kamjong headquarters on Saturday afternoon, creating panic among the civilian Tangkhul population. The statement further claimed that security personnel from the 11 Assam Rifles stationed in Chassad aided the armed attackers, advancing with armored vehicles and deploying stun bombs toward civilian zones that damaged surrounding properties.
In addition to the gunfight, two Tangkhul Naga villages, Skipe and Pilong, were set on fire by suspected Kuki armed militants. A senior police officer noted that because these settlements are situated near the Indo-Myanmar border, limited manpower had delayed police arrival at the scene, though no casualties were reported from the arson attacks.