Imphal: Fire gutted more than 35 homes near the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur’s Kamjong district. The violence hit near International Border Pillar 102. It happened in two distinct waves.
Armed attackers first hit Phaimol Kuki village around noon. They torched 15 houses. The fire then spread to the Tangkhul Naga villages of Kongkan Thana and Sangkalok. Another 20 homes burned there. Shelters housing over 200 refugees from Myanmar were destroyed. Residents and refugees fled to safety.
Naga and Kuki groups are now pointing fingers. The Eastern Command-Naga Village Guard blamed the Kuki National Army-Burma and local militants for the destruction. They claimed the initial attack on Phaimol was a setup to target Naga villages.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur and the Committee on Tribal Unity rejected these claims. They blamed the NSCN (IM) for the carnage. They also took aim at the military presence. The groups alleged that "Assam Rifles personnel had withdrawn from the locality a day before the incident."
Both sides want the Centre and the Manipur government to step in. They want peace restored to the border. Independent verification of these claims remains impossible at this time.
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