The Assam Rifles on December 4 found the bodies of at least 13 men in Tengnoupal district of Manipur, close to the Myanmar border, a defence source said. The identity of the men is yet to be established.
An Assam Rifles team rushed to the spot around 10.30 a.m. after receiving intelligence inputs about an intense gunfight between two groups at Leithao village in Tengoupal, a Kuki-dominated area, the source said.
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The nearest Assam Rifles camp is located around 10 kilometres away. The source added there was no deployment of troops in the area as no incident had been reported in the past seven months when ethnic violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki-Zo people raged in the State.
“Search operations have been launched in the area to apprehend the suspects. Under what circumstances the 13 men were killed is also being investigated,” the source said.
The Manipur Police posted on X (formerly Twitter) that 13 persons were killed in a gunfight between unknown armed miscreants at Leithao village near Saibol, under the Machi police station in Tengnoupal district.
“District police and security forces rushed to the spot, a case has been registered and investigation is going on,” the police said.
Restoring peace
In another development, the National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM), a Meitei underground group, joined the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), a banned Meitei group that signed a peace accord with the Government of Manipur and the Government of India on November 29, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement.
Around 25 leaders/cadres of the NRFM, led by Major Boicha (Vice Chief of Army Staff of NRFM), along with 25 weapons, joined the UNLF on December 2, the Ministry said.
“With this, most of the outfit’s members have taken a step towards abjuring the path of violence. The development is likely to give a momentum to efforts of Government of India to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur,” it said.
It said that the NRFM (earlier United Revolutionary Front) was formed on September 11, 2011 by cadres of three factions of the KCP, a Meitei insurgent group.
“Its senior leaders operated from bases in a neighbouring country and were involved in violence and extortion in various parts of the Manipur Valley. The development is likely to encourage other Meitei underground outfits to join the peace process and pursue their demands in a democratic manner,” the Ministry said.
