Imphal (Manipur), June 5: In yet another shocking incident of group violence in Manipur, unidentified armed assailants shot dead 3 people in a tribal village in Kangpokpi district on Friday.
The deceased include a woman when armed insurgents belonging to a particular ethnic group launched the attack on Loibol Khullen village in the wee hours.
According to sources, the attack on the civilians took place during an encounter between two-armed group in the same tribal village which was going on for 3 hours.
Police said the deceased have been identified as Letkhongam Haokip, Tinmary Haokip and Jangminlal Haokip.
As the villagers came to hear the sound of gunshot, they started leaving their homes and rushed to a nearby forest for shelter.
During the crossfire, the insurgents torched at least 8 houses.
Both the armed groups vanished from the spot as soon as the additional security forces reached the village and started a combing operation which is going on.
On the other hand, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) strongly condemned the attack on the tribal villagers and urged the government to institute an immediate probe into it and to apprehend them thereof.
KIM Secretary (Information and Publicity) Janghaolun Haokip called it an incident of deliberate killing of innocent people gross violation of fundamental human rights.
