Imphal, July 22 (IANS) In a fratricide incident, at least five cadres of a militant group were killed in a fierce gun battle in Manipur’s Noney district on Tuesday, officials said.

A senior official in Imphal said that in an intra-group fight of a militant outfit, at least five militants were killed at Daveijang jungle areas near Longpi village in Noney district of western Manipur.

Preliminary information said that the gun battle took place among the cadres of the Chin Kuki Mizo Army (CKMA), which has not signed any Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the government. The mountainous area is a very remote area and hardly any communication is there, the official said, adding that further details are awaited.

A police team is on the way to the area.

The CKMA outfit is a newly formed militant group, the official said, adding that the motive for the gunfight seems to be a leadership issue.

Meanwhile, in a similar incident on June 30, unidentified gunmen killed four people, including an elderly woman, in an ambush in Churachandpur district.

According to police, a Hyundai Creta car was ambushed at Mongjang village in Churachandpur district, leading to the death of those inside the vehicle. The three men were gunned down on the spot inside the car, while a 72-year-old elderly woman, who was passing the area, was hit by a bullet fired by the gunmen. She succumbed to her injuries on the way to the Churachandpur district hospital.

The deceased, whose bodies have been deposited at Churachandpur hospital morgue, were identified as Phalhing (72), Thenkhothang alias Thahpi (48), Seikhogin (35) and Lengouhao (35).

Outlawed militant outfit United Kuki National Army (UKNA) had claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed the members of another armed Kuki group that signed the SoO agreement with the government in 2008.

Sources said that the three men victims belonged to the Kuki National Army (KNA) outfit. The incident resulted in a factional feud among the militant outfits of the Kuki community, the sources had said.

–IANS

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