Imphal, May 13 (IANS) A fresh ambush was reported near the Joujangtek Forest Gate in Noney district on Wednesday evening, hours after an earlier attack in Kangpokpi district.​

A police official said that a man and his wife, belonging to the Chiru Naga community, were returning home from Imphal in a car when unidentified armed attackers reportedly opened fire on their vehicle near Joujangtek under Khoupum Police Station.​

The man, identified as Wilson Thanga of Dolang Chiru village, succumbed to his injuries in the attack, while his wife sustained serious injuries.​

Sources said the couple had earlier taken refuge at Nungsai Khunthak, under the jurisdiction of Khoupum Police Station in Noney district.​

The latest incident comes just hours after another attack was reported in Kangpokpi district on Wednesday, raising fresh concerns over the prevailing security situation in the hill districts of Manipur.​

Security forces rushed to the area following reports of the attack.​

No official statement has yet been issued regarding the identity of the attackers or the circumstances surrounding the incident.​

Investigation into the matter is reportedly underway.​

According to a police official in Imphal, unidentified armed men ambushed two vehicles along Tiger Road in the mountainous Kangpokpi district on Wednesday morning, killing three persons on the spot and injuring four others.​

The victims, all belonging to the Kuki community, were travelling in the vehicles when unidentified armed cadres opened fire on them.​

The Kuki Students’ Organisation stated that all the victims were Baptist Church leaders from the Kuki community.​

The Kuki Inpi Manipur, one of the apex bodies of the Kuki community in Manipur, on Wednesday called for a three-day total shutdown across all Kuki-Zo inhabited areas of the state following the killing of three Baptist Church leaders in Kangpokpi district.​

Janghaolun Haokip, Secretary for Information and Publicity of Kuki Inpi Manipur, strongly condemned the killings and expressed profound grief over the deaths of Rev. V. Sitlhou, Rev. Kaigoulun and Pastor Paogoulen, while five others sustained injuries in what the organisation described as a “barbaric attack”.​

–IANS

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