Militant attack kills three Meitei men in Manipur, triggers protests

Three Meitei men were killed and three others wounded when militants ambushed a group of 14 villagers cutting firewood in the Sunurok hills of Kangpokpi district on Monday morning. According to the state's Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the group at approximately 9:40 am in an area under Sagolmang Police Station.

The incident triggered immediate public outrage, with residents placing the bodies outside the residence of Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh to protest the continued violence. Police deployed tear gas shells to disperse angry crowds gathering at the site. The attack marks another deadly episode in Manipur's cycle of ethnic unrest that has persisted since May 2023, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing thousands.

In response to the killings, Chief Minister Singh directed officials to strengthen security arrangements across vulnerable areas of the state. Security forces subsequently launched a combing operation in the affected region to hunt down those responsible. The Congress opposition demanded Singh's resignation, accusing the government of failing to contain violence. "Continued killings have made people feel orphaned," the party said in a statement criticizing the administration's response to the deteriorating security situation.

The Manipur violence, rooted in longstanding ethnic tensions between the Meitei majority and indigenous hill communities, has created a humanitarian crisis marked by communal clashes, arson, and armed militia activities across multiple districts.