Imphal: Suspected Kuki militants killed two Meitei men and injured at least eight others in an ambush near Honghman village along the border between Manipur’s Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts on Monday morning.
Security sources said a group of more than 10 villagers entered a forest area near the Nongshum and Khamenlok hills around 7 am to collect firewood.
The attackers allegedly opened fire without warning as the villagers loaded wood onto their vehicles.
Officials identified the deceased as A. Ronesh Singh, 39, and Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 51. Both died at the scene.
Emergency responders took several injured victims, whose identities have not been confirmed, to Raj Medicity, a private hospital in Imphal. A few other members of the group could not be located immediately after the attack.
Local authorities said the Khamenlok area is a sensitive border zone that has experienced repeated ethnic violence since the conflict began on May 3, 2023.
A similar attack in the same area in June 2023 left nine people dead and five injured.