Manipur ambush kills three firewood collectors, protesters bring bodies to chief minister’s gate

New Delhi: Three men collecting firewood were killed and three others injured when suspected militants opened fire near the boundary between Manipur’s Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts on Monday. The killings triggered protests in the state capital, where residents placed two victims’ bodies outside the official residence of the chief minister, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, demanding action over civilian safety.

According to local reports, the attack occurred in the Khongban Sunurok area near Nongsum Hills, along a district boundary that separates predominantly Meitei settlements from Kuki-dominated areas. The victims were among 16 people who had gone into the hills to collect firewood, and three others were reported missing after the shooting.

The dead were identified as Arubam Ronil, Lairenlakpam Inaobi and Kshetrimayum Sushil, all from nearby villages. Two died at the scene, while Sushil subsequently succumbed to his injuries, according to officials quoted by media.

A survivor, Thokchom Kiranjit, told the Indian Express that the villagers had returned to retrieve wood gathered earlier and left to dry. He said armed men concealed near the collection point opened fire from several directions, forcing members of the group to flee.

Residents subsequently brought two bodies to the chief minister’s bungalow in Babupara, turning their protest into a direct demand for government intervention. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and tightened security around the residence and its approach roads.

The anger spread elsewhere in Imphal, with demonstrators blocking a road at Khurai Lamlong and women gathering at Ema Keithel. Shops and markets closed following the killings, while Singh visited the injured at a private hospital but did not answer reporters’ questions.

The local legislator, Thokchom Lokeshor Singh, alleged that Kuki-Zo militants were responsible and demanded an investigation, stronger civilian protection and the removal of the nearby Sinai camp associated with the suspension of operations arrangement. He also alleged that Assam Rifles personnel had assured the villagers of protection before they entered the area; the accounts reviewed did not establish the attackers’ organizational affiliation or independently substantiate the alleged assurance.

The legislator’s demand concerning the camp should therefore be distinguished from an established finding about responsibility for the shooting. The immediate security concern is the exposure of civilians undertaking routine activities along an already sensitive boundary between communities.

Separately, NDTV reported another death in violence overnight, when clashes involving stone-pelting and gunfire broke out during a musical event in an area inhabited by Meiteis and Pangal Muslims. That fatality brought the reported toll across the two incidents to four, while the firewood-collecting group suffered three deaths.

The latest attack threatens to reopen Meitei-Kuki tensions that have persisted since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023. It also comes as Manipur confronts another strand of unrest involving Naga and Kuki communities, complicating efforts to restore security across the state’s hill districts.

As RNA Media reported on September 27, six Naga civilians were killed in two attacks within three days, including four near Pilong in Kamjong district and two in the Senapati area. Those killings coincided with negotiations that led the United Naga Council to suspend a highway blockade, illustrating how renewed violence has repeatedly disrupted attempts at de-escalation.

Concern over civilian protection was also evident when a Tangkhul students’ organization warned that vulnerable border residents could seek outside assistance if authorities failed to protect them. Its statement reflected mounting frustration over security, although it did not announce that any foreign government had been approached.