14 Naga militants killed in fratricidal clash; Manipur militants warn against arming civilians
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  • As many as fourteen National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) militants were killed in a fierce gun battle with rival NSCN-IM near Dimapur town in Nagaland on June 41. The state had witnessed escalation of factional killings among rival armed groups in the first six months of the year. Earlier on May 24, five militants were killed following a clash between the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) in Manipur’s Senapati district. The two outfits were currently holding ‘suspension of operation’ agreement with the security forces2.

    Meanwhile, in a joint statement on June 6, two militant groups of Manipur, the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) warned against the government’s decision to arm civilians. The two groups warned that stern punishment would be meted out to anybody who misled the villagers of Heirok in Thoubal district to take arms from the government. The outfits further cautioned that they would treat all those involved in arming Heirok villagers as enemies of the ‘freedom struggle’. The warning came days after the state cabinet decided on June 4 not to use the proposed Special Police Officer (SPO) units for counter-insurgency operations3.

    Meanwhile, the outgoing Director-General of Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen. Paramjit Singh expressed dissatisfaction over Myanmar’s inaction in countering the militants who had taken shelter in that country. Among other outfits, NSCN-K, ULFA and Manipur-based insurgent outfits are reported to have set up training camps across the border. Gen. Singh noted that the issue needed to be resolved with diplomacy and not by any military action4.

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