Gunfire Breaks Out Between Naga and Kuki Groups After Abandoned Village Set on Fire in Manipur's Kangpokpi,

Tensions escalated in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district after unknown miscreants set fire to Kharam Vaiphei, an abandoned village, on Thursday afternoon. According to intelligence sources, the village was reportedly housing an unauthorized camp of the Kuki National Front (KNFP).

The incident took place at around 2:30 PM in an area situated directly behind the National Sports University.

Preliminary investigations suggest that cadres belonging to the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) were behind the arson attack. The incident quickly triggered a heavy exchange of fire between KNFP and KLA cadres in the vicinity.

Local security forces were alerted to the heavy gunfire and have deployed additional personnel to stabilize the peripheral zone.

This clash occurs amid an incredibly volatile security situation in the immediate area. The incident took place in the same stretch where three senior tribal church leaders—including Thadou Baptist Association president Reverend Vumthang Sitlhou—were ambushed and killed on May 13.

That specific killing triggered a severe regional crisis, directly leading to a wave of retaliatory violence, including the recent abduction of 18 Naga civilians. The kidnapping has severely strained relations between local communities and heightened ethnic sensitivities across district borders in an laready volatile area. Security agencies view this latest flare-up between the KNFP and KLA as an extension of the ongoing power struggles and retaliations consuming the region since the May 13 killings.

While field reports indicate active conflict between the two armed groups, the official sequence of events and details regarding casualties are yet to be confirmed by senior administrative and security officials.

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