Tensions rose in Manipur’s Kamjong district on Wednesday after unidentified assailants set fire to the abandoned Kuki village in Vaimul, destroying all the houses except the village church, while security forces foiled a retaliatory attempt to set fire to the nearby Tangkul Naga village in Shangkalok, officials said.
According to police, the incident took place around 12:30 pm when unidentified persons entered Vaimul village, located about 45 km north-east of Chasad police station near Indo-Myanmar border pillar No. 113, and set it on fire.
Authorities said the residents of Vaimul have already evacuated the village and have taken refuge in Aichi village, where the Assam Rifles camp is located.
The fire destroyed 15 houses in Vaymul, while the village church remained intact.
In response, another unidentified group entered Changhalok Tangkul village, located near Pillar No. 101 on the India-Myanmar border, at around 1.45 pm and attempted to set it on fire. The police said that security forces intervened in a timely manner and prevented serious damage.
“In the incident, some small thatched houses belonging to Burmese refugees and a few houses belonging to the Tangkul community were completely destroyed. Seven houses in Tangkul Naga were partially burnt but were saved, and seven to eight houses remained intact. Another seven houses in Huimin Thana (Tangkul village, between Shangkhalok and Phikoh) were also burned to ashes,” the police said.
Officials said no injuries were reported. The police registered a suo motu case at the police station concerned.
The new violence comes amid rising tensions between the Naga and Kuki communities following the May 13 double ambush in Noni and Kangbukpi districts in which three church leaders and a Naga man were killed.
After six mutilated Naga civilians were recovered, Naga organizations intensified protests demanding action against those responsible, including blocking national highways.
The six victims were among 48 people allegedly kidnapped and held hostage by the Kuki and Naga groups following the May 13 attacks. While all the Kuki hostages and 14 Naga civilians were released after nearly a month, the bodies of the remaining six Naga were recovered on June 10 near Kharam Fayfi in Kangpokpi district. They were reportedly kidnapped from Lilon village located near Kharam Fayfi.
In a separate statement, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the highest civilian body in Kuki, condemned the burning of Faimul village and claimed that the attack was carried out by “armed cadres of the NSCN-IM led by Tangkul and the Shani Nationalities Army (SNA), an armed group operating from Myanmar.”
“The repeated involvement of the Somali National Army also highlights serious national security concerns. Cross-border terrorism cannot be treated merely as a local law and order issue. The Government of India must adopt stronger border management measures and engage the Myanmar government to ensure that Indian territory is not repeatedly targeted by armed groups operating across the border,” Kim said.
Meanwhile, the Naga Village Guards of the Eastern Command in a separate statement claimed that Kuki militants attacked Huimin Thana and Nambicha villages along the Indo-Myanmar border in Kamjong district and set fire to 25 houses.
“According to eyewitnesses, as many as 20 Kukis armed with sophisticated weapons crossed the Namya River from Vaikoh village located at the 102nd border pillar and launched a violent targeted attack on Naga settlements,” the statement said.
She further claimed that while the villagers managed to escape, 13 houses in Khairungram and seven in Hoimin Thana were reduced to ashes. In addition, about 20 camps established in Khairungram in 2023, which housed 365 Burmese refugees displaced by political unrest in Myanmar, were completely destroyed.
The group claimed that the attacks on Naga settlements occurred minutes after burning about 20 abandoned houses in Vaimole village at around 1.30 pm.
