Manipur Crisis: Snipers, drone bombs, and advanced intelligence were used in the attack.
Delhi/Imphal: Sunday’s firing by “suspected Kuki militants” in Manipur resulted in the death of a woman and the injuries of nine others, including two police officers, according to separate statements from the state police and the Home Department. The incident left two people dead, according to the Home Department, who also confirmed that a man had died.
According to top intelligence officials who spoke with NDTV today, the attack was executed with the help of snipers and bombs dropped by drones, corroborated by prior reports from witnesses. According to the reports, there has been a significant and terrifying increase in the deployment of drones to drop bombs on a civilian area in a state where ethnic violence has occurred.
The old-fashioned artillery “pumpi guns” fired shells that landed close to the drones’ flight path, creating the impression that the drones dropped the bombs. This led to the prior suspicion that the drones were deployed as spotters, according to sources.
For the first time, though, the threat to the local civilian population and security personnel has escalated to previously unheard-of heights with the confirmation of top security establishment sources regarding the use of drones to drop bombs.
At least two weaponized drones were spotted, according to police sources, and one of the officers was struck in the leg by shrapnel from a bomb dropped by a drone. Sources reported that at 2:35 p.m., the firing began in Kangpokpi’s Nakhujang hamlet and moved toward Kadangband in Imphal West. Locals in Kadangband reported that at least one drone allegedly dropped a “bomb” on a nearby house and uploaded alleged photos of the incident that appeared to show people fleeing.
High-tech drones have been used by alleged Kuki insurgents to drop multiple RPGs. Although drone bombs are frequently employed in conventional warfare, the recent use of drones to drop explosives on people and security officers represents a dramatic increase, according to a post on X by the Manipur Police.
Manipur
Ngangbam Surbala, 31, was taken to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal, the state capital, 45 kilometers away from Kangpokpi, where she was declared deceased. Her daughter, hurt, is in the medical facility.
Imphal West is located in a valley dominated by Meitei, whereas Kangpokpi is a Kuki area. Since May 2023, there has been conflict between the Kuki tribes and the Meitei community over several matters.
According to the statement, the Manipur Home Department, the attack was condemned. Two people, including a woman, were reportedly killed and numerous more were injured in the tragic episode involving Kuki militants attacking innocent Koutruk villagers with drones, bombs, and other advanced weapons. According to the Home Department, “The state government takes the act of terrorizing defenseless villagers extremely seriously and is making every effort to restore peace and normalcy to the state.”
By Whom Did the Fire Start? Charges Get Away
Manipur
While Kuki tribespeople on social media said the Meiteis started shooting at Kuki villages in Kangpokpi initially, Meitei community members claimed “Kuki terrorists” were responsible for the woman’s death. Kuki tribe members said that the incident occurred just a few days after alleged audio recordings of the Chief Minister, which have since been turned over to a Home Ministry investigation panel, “proved” the Chief Minister was the catalyst for the Manipur issue. “Doctored” is how the state government has described the recordings.
Manipur MP for the Rajya Sabha, Sanajaoba Leishemba, said in a post on X that “Kuki militants” were responsible for the attacks.
Lamtinthang Haokip, vice president of the Manipur Congress and a member of the Kuki tribe, said in a post on X that volunteers from Kuki village stopped an attempted ambush between the Leimakhong and Kangchup road, leading to a gunfight.
He claimed the episode was a “BJP game” to deflect attention from the audio tape scandal surrounding Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, a Meitei who is a member of the ruling BJP.
According to a statement from the Kuki Inpi, “Kuki-Zo volunteers” retaliated after “valley-based armed groups” backed by state authorities allegedly attempted to attack a vital route utilized by Kuki tribal members.
Over 220 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 internally displaced as a result of conflicts between the Meitei population, who live mostly in valleys, and approximately twenty tribes known as Kukis, a word coined by the British during colonial times and prominent in various hill parts of Manipur.
The overall classification In contrast to the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with residents of neighboring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram, Meiteis seek to be classified as Scheduled Tribes and want their own administration created out of Manipur, citing discrimination and an unfair distribution of resources and power.