Manipur: Armed Militants Attack Naga Villages in Kamjong
At least 18 houses were reportedly torched and several civilians injured after suspected KNA-B militants allegedly crossed from Myanmar and attacked Tangkhul Naga villages in Kamjong district.
KAMJONG/IMPHAL— In a serious escalation along the Indo-Myanmar border, suspected armed militants from the Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B), allegedly backed by Myanmar’s People’s Defence Force (PDF), launched a pre-dawn coordinated attack on three Tangkhul Naga villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district early Thursday morning, report said.
The attacks targeted the villages of Namlee (Namli), Wanglee (Wanglee Market), and Choro around 3:30–4:00 AM. Reports indicate heavy firing, use of sophisticated weapons, possible drone involvement, torching of houses, looting, and ransacking of properties.
At least 18 houses were reportedly burnt down across the villages. In Choro, most private homes were set ablaze, sparing only the church building. One house was torched in Namlee, and two in Wanglee. Two civilians sustained bullet injuries, including a woman hit in the left thigh in Namlee. No immediate fatalities were confirmed, but the situation remains fluid.
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Local MLA Leishiyo Keishing reported that one man, Zingran Ningshen, and a widow named Itobi (from Imphal, staying in Wanglee for business) were allegedly taken captive. Their whereabouts are unknown.
Villagers fled into nearby jungles and forests in panic. Around 300 people have been evacuated to relief camps in safer areas. Many others remain unaccounted for.
The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) Working Committee strongly condemned the incident as “external aggression” on Indian soil. They alleged that militants used drones, rocket launchers, and automatic weapons, rounded up and tortured some villagers, and looted properties.
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MLA Leishiyo Keishing (Phungyar constituency) described the attack as a shift from the ongoing internal ethnic conflict to “external underground groups” from across the border.
He criticised the Assam Rifles for failing to intervene despite a camp located just 200 metres away between Choro and Aloyo. “The border villages are actually guarding the border,” he said, urging the Centre and state government to strengthen security.
Naga organisations have highlighted the porous border and past hospitality shown by local villagers to Myanmar refugees, questioning how such a large group (reports suggest around 100 armed militants) could cross undetected.
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Kuki Inpi Manipur has separately condemned alleged aggression against Kuki-Zo villages in the region in recent days, pointing to mutual accusations amid heightened tensions.
This incident occurs amid Manipur’s prolonged ethnic conflict between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that began in May 2023. Over 58,000 people remain displaced, with more than 217 deaths recorded.
A new BJP-led government under Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh assumed office in February 2026, but peace efforts have seen limited success.
Recent triggers include the April 7 bomb blast in Tronglaobi (Bishnupur) that killed two Meitei children, leading to widespread protests, and ongoing cross-border frictions involving Naga, Kuki, and Myanmar-linked groups in districts like Kamjong and Ukhrul.
