Suspected militants launched a fresh attack in Manipur’s Kadangband area during the early hours of Wednesday, firing multiple rounds using sophisticated firearms and throwing bombs. The attack forced several villagers living in the area in the Imphal West district to flee to safer places, police said.
The militant attack occurred just hours after Chief Minister Biren Singh apologised for the violence and promised to restore peace in the year ahead, urging citizens to “forgive and forget”.
According to the police, militants fired several rounds from sophisticated arms and hurled bombs from their hill positions in Kangpokpi district to the low-lying Kadangband area in Imphal West district around 1 am.
Village volunteers deployed in the area returned the fire even as additional security forces were rushed to the area to control the situation. No injuries were reported in the firing, the police said.
Kadangband area has witnessed several attacks by suspected militants since violence broke out in the state in May 2023.
Meanwhile, security forces seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during search operations in the Bishnupur and Thoubal districts, including sophisticated weapons such as SLR with a magazine, one .303 rifle, one 12 bore single barrel gun, two 9mm pistol with magazines, one anti-riot gun, two INSAS LMG magazine, two INSAS rifle magazine, four hand grenades, one detonator, five anti-riot shell, ammunition and other articles.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Biren Singh apologised for the ethnic conflict in the state and appealed to all communities to forget and forgive past mistakes and start afresh. He said that there has been relative peace in the state in the last three-four months, which gives him hope that normalcy will be restored in the new year.
“I want to say sorry for what happened in the state. Many people lost their loved ones and many had to leave their homes. I regret and want to apologise. But after seeing relative peace in the last 3-4 months, I hope that normalcy will be restored in the coming year,” the Chief Minister said.
The ethnic conflict between Kuki and Meieti communities, which began in May 2023, has so far claimed over 250 lives and rendered thousands homeless.
