IMPHAL: At least seven police commandos, including a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, were injured in an audacious attack by militants in Manipur’s Moreh on Tuesday morning.
The assailants, suspected to be mercenaries from the Kuki National Army (B) on the Myanmar side, targeted the security forces during a joint search operation along the Myanmar border.
Militants even fired upon a helicopter dispatched to evacuate the injured personnel, further intensifying the volatile situation.
The incident sparked furious protests in Imphal, where enraged civilians took to the streets in a march, expressing their anger and concern.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who visited the Regional Institute of Medical Science in Imphal to check on the injured personnel, condemned the attacks.
Singh revealed that additional reinforcements have been rushed to the border area, and state authorities are in constant communication with the Ministry of Home Affairs to address the security concerns.
In a video message, Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed for peace and assured that the perpetrators behind the attacks would be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.
The situation remains tense in the minority-dominated Lilong Chingjao area, where an earlier incident saw four villagers gunned down by unidentified assailants in camouflage uniforms.
This alarming incident unfolded just a day after four men were killed and five others critically injured in Thoubal district on January 1.
The Manipur government responded by imposing a curfew in five districts of Imphal Valley to quell rising tensions, particularly in the wake of nearly 200 lives lost to ethnic violence last year.
Despite curfew measures and increased security forces, the region grapples with the aftermath of violence, with commercial establishments shuttered and vehicular patrolling intensified to maintain law and order.
The victims of the recent attacks have been identified, and the security forces remain vigilant, vowing to restore calm in the strife-ridden state.
