Three Naga Villages attacked, burned along IT Road in Kangpokpi District, Manipur

Imphal: Three Liangmai Naga villages along the Imphal - Tamenglong (IT) Road in Kangpokpi district came under sustained attack early Tuesday morning until late in the afternoon, according to multiple ground-level accounts and a statement issued by the Makui Village Authority.

The reported attacks began around 4 a.m., with residents reporting heavy firing in and around Pipuram, Tapon and Thonglang Akutpa. By morning, local sources said several houses had been set ablaze and villagers were seeking shelter amid continued gunfire.

The Makui Village Authority, in a statement, alleged that Kuki militants attacked Pipuram Naga Village at around 4 a.m, opening indiscriminate fire before setting houses and property on fire. The authority said food grains and household belongings were also destroyed. According to the statement, the attackers subsequently moved towards Makui Naga Village, where firing continued.

The allegations could not be independently verified. There was no immediate official confirmation identifying those responsible for Tuesday's attacks.

Ground reports received throughout the morning indicated that Upper Tapon, Lower Tapon, Tapon NRI and Tapon Ngang were also affected.

Residents reported that firing began in the Tapon and Thonglang Akutpa areas between approximately 4:15 a.m. At around 5:25 a.m., local accounts said firing had stopped temporarily in Thonglang Akutpa but remained intense around Tapon. By 8:42 a.m., residents were reporting that Tapon remained surrounded and that several houses had been burned.

Local sources said that Kuki groups were preventing security personnel from reaching the village by placing rocks on the roads and also cutting down trees to block the road.

Kukis blocking the road so that CRPF and other security forces cannot pass through in IT Road at Kangpokpi town.

By around 12:25 p.m., local residents were still reporting that Tapon had been defending itself for several hours without what they described as adequate reinforcement. Local sources claimed that Pipuram, a Liangmai Naga village located around eight kilometres from Makui, had been largely or completely burned.

Multiple Trees have been allegedly cut down by Kuki militants to stop any reinforcement

Local sources claimed that New Tapon had also been extensively burned, while fighting continued in other parts of the Tapon area. Pastor of Upper Tapon sustained injuries to his hands and lower back. CRPF contingent eventually reached the area around 12:45pm nearly, 9 hours after the attacks began. The pastor has been given first aid and is being planned to take him for further treatment.

Makui Village Authority described the latest violence as part of a continuing series of attacks and alleged that the objective was to drive Liangmai Nagas out of the IT Road area.

Local sources accused the armed Kuki groups of attacking the Naga villages and alleged that fighters affiliated with the Kuki National Front (KNF) and Kuki National Army (KNA) were involved. One circulating post specifically alleged that armed groups operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) arrangement were involved in looting houses in Tapon before they were burned.

Security concerns mount along IT Road and the situation remained fluid. The succession of attacks has raised fears that the IT Road could become a new major flashpoint in Manipur's continuing ethnic conflict. For residents of the affected Naga villages, however, immediate concern was survival.

The claims regarding the movement of security forces, the extent of the destruction and the identities of the attackers remain subject to official confirmation.

This is a developing story.