Four suspected members of the United Kuki National Army were killed on Tuesday morning in a gunfight with security personnel at Khanpi village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, a senior police officer and an Indian Army officer told Scroll.
The United Kuki National Army is a Kuki armed group that is not a signatory to the Suspension of Operations agreement.
The agreement is a tripartite pact between the Union government, the Manipur government and two conglomerates of armed groups, the Kuki National Organisation and the United Peoples’ Front. The agreement had lapsed in February 2024 and was renewed on September 3.
Manipur has been embroiled in ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities that have killed at least 260 persons and displaced more than 59,000 persons since May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024.
President’s Rule was imposed in February after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.
During an intelligence-based operation on Tuesday, the militants resorted to unprovoked firing at an Army column in Khanpi, which led to a gunfight, the Army said in a statement.
The operation is still on and a search in the adjoining areas was underway.
“This operation follows recent atrocities by UKNA cadres including killing of a village chief, intimidation of locals and attempts to disrupt peace and stability in the region,” the Army said.
The United Kuki National Army claimed on Tuesday that its members, who were killed, had been sleeping at the time of the operation.
The armed group said in a statement it was neither a threat to society, nor the Army, and reiterated its demand for a separate administration from Manipur. The group said that it will surrender once its demand is met.
Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes, said in a statement on Tuesday that the incident had caused “profound pain and outrage” in the Kuki community.
The organisation added that “continued targeted actions against our community severely undermine trust and jeopardize peace efforts”, and urged the authorities to “exercise utmost sensitivity and impartiality”.
Members of the United Kuki National Army have been previously linked to sporadic incidents of violence in Churachandpur district, the newspaper reported.
In late October, a village chief in the district died after being assaulted by armed men allegedly linked to the group.
In June, at least four persons, including a Kuki National Organisation leader and an elderly woman, were killed in an ambush allegedly carried out by the United Kuki National Army.
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