Noney gunfight: Three Kuki-Zo men killed in Manipur's Nungba area

Three Kuki-Zo men were killed in an exchange of fire with unidentified armed men in the Nungba sub-division of Manipur's Noney district, police said on Saturday, in the latest violence to hit the hill district.

The Indian Express reported that the shooting took place at Kekru Naga village and that police stepped up security in the area after the incident. In their statement confirming the deaths, police did not say what triggered the shootout, who was involved or who the dead men were.

What is known so far

Unconfirmed reports cited by The Indian Express said the firing began around 10 am and went on for several hours, after two days of intermittent attacks on Kekru Naga village and nearby areas.

Northeast Now, quoting local sources, described a gunfight of nearly five hours between suspected Kuki militants and Naga Village Guards near Taijeikaiphun Naga village under Nungba. According to that account, the village guards took control of the position afterwards and recovered three AK-series rifles and ammunition said to have been left behind. No casualties were reported among the guards.

Accounts of the exact location and timing differ, and the identities of the dead have not been officially confirmed. NEInsider has not been able to verify the competing versions independently.

Kuki Inpi Manipur blames NSCN-IM, ZUF(K)

The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of Kuki tribes in the state, said the three were village volunteers. In a strongly worded statement, it accused cadres of the NSCN-IM and the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson) of killing them and alleged that the bodies were desecrated afterwards.

KIM said the deaths were a direct result of the state's failure to provide adequate security to Kuki-Zo villages in Noney, which it said had forced residents to defend themselves. It demanded justice, accountability and immediate action by the government. Neither armed group had responded publicly to the allegations by Saturday night.

Arrests in Imphal

In separate operations in the Imphal valley, a joint team of Imphal East police commandos and 31 Assam Rifles arrested two suspected cadres of the Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba) over a September kidnapping, and a joint team picked up a cadre of the KCP (MFL) faction from the Polo Ground area in Imphal West, Northeast Now reported.

A troubled corridor

Noney, which lies along the Imphal-Jiribam stretch of NH-37, has seen repeated armed clashes in recent months, including factional fighting and attacks on villages. The deaths were reported on the day thousands marched in Imphal demanding an end to the Suspension of Operations pact with Kuki-Zo armed groups.

NEInsider will update this story when police release the names of the dead or further details of the incident.