Armed militants torch border villages in Manipur's Kamjong district, residents flee :::: "NDA and Naga MLA" terms ‘External Aggression’ and says "No Tangkhul Naga injured"

The attack on Namlee, Wanglee and Choro villages on Thursday by suspected Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) and People’s Defence Force (PDF) militants was an “external aggression” and not an internal communal conflict, MLA Leishiyo Keishing of Phungyar Assembly Constituency stated on Thursday.

“Many houses were burnt and several people injured, most of the injured belonging to the Vaiphei community, indicating that the incident was not a communal clash but an act of external aggression,” MLA Leishiyo Keishing said. The MLA pointed out that no Tangkhul Naga was injured in Thursday’s attack by KNA-B and PDF. 

According to villagers, two houses in Namlee, three to four houses in Wanglee and several houses in Choro, except for a church, were reduced to ashes. 

Leishiyo Keishing is Naga People's Front (NPF) legislator and the regional party headed by Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio is part of the BJP-led NDA combine. 

Heavily armed militants attacked villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district near the India-Myanmar border on Thursday morning, torching houses and forcing residents to flee.

According to police, the militants attacked the Tangkhul Naga villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro within Kasom Khullen police station area around 4 am, prompting residents of the border settlements to take shelter in nearby forests.

 The villages are located less than a kilometre from the international border.

At least one elderly woman sustained injuries while attempting to flee during the attack.  

There are certain other elements those need to be understood.  

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Namlee has been developed into a hub of illegal trade - Narco, Areca & Timber from Myanmar.

-- Namlee growth presence of illegal traders from Myanmar, seen expansion from 2018 to 2024 in area around Namlee.

** Namlee has been also developed by NSCN-IM as an alternative to Moreh - 

the complete village benefited "out of this" so did the NSCN-IM  and  

Valley based Insurgent groups (Meiteis) and also perhaps Forest department Officials/ other stakeholders and the Neta class in Manipur .

According to villagers, two houses in Namlee, three to four houses in Wanglee and several houses in Choro, except for a church, were reduced to ashes.

Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, later reached the area to assess the situation.

Phungyar MLA L Keishing alleged that the attack was carried out from across the border by Myanmar-based militant groups Kuki National Army (Burma) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF).

"So far, the state had been seeing internal conflicts, but today there has been external aggression. A combined force of Kuki National Army-B and People’s Defence Force attacked four to five border villages at 3.30 am," Keishing told reporters.

MLA Leishiyo Keishing said villagers alleged that despite coming under what he termed an “external aggression”, there was no timely response from the Assam Rifles outpost located near the affected villages. 

He further said the villagers expressed dissatisfaction over the role of the Assam Rifles and added that clarification would be sought from the State government, particularly the Home Department.

The legislator alleged that two villagers were abducted during the assault and that there has been no information regarding their whereabouts so far. 

He urged the security forces to take immediate steps to trace the missing villagers and strengthen security measures in the border villages of Kamjong district along the Indo–Myanmar border.  

The Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long (TAKL), also known as the Southern Tangkhul Students’ Union, expressed "extreme urgency and outrage" over the attacks on Tangkhul Naga border villages by alleged Kuki militants operating under the Kuki National Army-Burma.

The student body alleged that around 100 armed KNA-B militants crossed the Indo-Myanmar border into Kamjong district and attacked villages including Namlee, Wanglee, Ashang Khullen and Choro.

It demanded that the state government immediately deploy Manipur Police commandos in the affected villages and demanded an immediate explanation regarding the alleged security lapse that allowed around 100 armed militants to cross the international boundary undetected.

Meanwhile those in the know of the things raise a few 'other related questions':

** What were the Eastern Flank (EF) doing in Litan?

Why did the Eastern Flank issue a recent statement on Kuki issue and Litan? Who did so?

** Who killed Four Eastern Flank (EF) Cadres near Kamjong & Why?

*** Who was controlling "illegal trade" in Namlee and Wanglee and who "inside NSCN-IM" were/are more influential in these areas or operation ?

ends 

🛑Who killed four KDF/ KNA-B cadres near Namlee & Wanglee?