Four members of the Naga community were killed in an ambush in Manipur's Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said, in the latest escalation of violence in the northeastern state.Manipur has been reeling under violence since May 2023, when ethnic clashes first broke out between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities. (Representational Image) (Vishma Ahanthem)The four were travelling towards Imphal when armed men attacked their vehicles along NH-202.According to police, the deceased were identified as Kapangkhui RS and Haoleila RS of Shangshak village, and August Ngalung and Khanmila Keishing of Tashar village. They were travelling in two separate vehicles when a group of armed men ambushed them along NH-202 in New Heaven village.“The attack was launched by unknown armed miscreants, suspected to be Kuki militants.

The bodies have been recovered from the spot after due procedures, and we have launched a search operation in the surrounding areas,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate reaction from any Kuki organisation.Also Read: Manipur firing: Woman killed, three injured in attacks on farmers in Senapati and UkhrulFresh front in Manipur violenceManipur has been reeling under violence since May 2023, when ethnic clashes first broke out between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities.

Since then, violence has engulfed almost every community in the state, leading to a breakdown of law and order, the creation of ethnic enclaves, nearly 370 deaths and the displacement of 66,000 people. The state has also been virtually bifurcated along ethnic lines.The spate of clashes between members of the Naga and Kuki communities has opened a new front in the violence, with people from both sides ransacking villages, laying ambushes and mutilating bodies.On Thursday, a 40-year-old woman was killed and two others injured after unidentified armed men opened fire on farmers working in a paddy field in Manipur's Senapati district, police said.In a separate incident, a 52-year-old Naga community member was injured in a firing incident in Ukhrul.