At least three people were injured during a gunfight erupted in Ringui village of Manipur’s Ukhrul district under the jurisdiction of Luichong Maiphei police station between two armed groups, officials confirmed.

According to police sources, the gunfight erupted at around 10.30 am between two armed groups between suspected village volunteers belonging to the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities.

The gunfight lasted till evening at around 6 pm.

Police said the three injured, later identified as Tangkhul Naga village volunteers, were evacuated at Ukhrul district hospital for treatment.

Ringui is a Tangkhul Naga village located at around 36 km west of Ukhrul town. And the village is accessible via the national highway connecting Ukhrul and Kohima.

Ukhrul district has been unrest since February after a drunken brawl between youths belonging to the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities. Over 50 houses including government structures had been set ablaze, belonging to two communities.

Recently on April 18, two Tangkhul Naga civilians were killed during an ambush en route to Imphal to Ukhrul, allegedly carried out by suspected Kuki militants. Later, on April 24 three armed individuals (two belonged to Kuki and one Tangkhul Naga) were killed during a twin gunfight in the same district at Sinakeithei village, Ukhrul district.

Meanwhile, Ringui village protection committee (RVPC), (a Tangkhul Naga committee) Ukhrul district in a statement expressed strong condemnation against the ‘unprovoked attack’ carried out allegedly by Kuki militants under Suspension of Operation (SoO), who are reportedly armed with sophisticated weapons against the Naga village guards (NVG) monitoring Ringui Horei area under Ringui village, Ukhrul district of Manipur, the statement stated.

The gunfire has caused widespread panic among villagers, it added.

The committee claimed that “the repeated acts of aggression reveal a continuing pattern of hostility and provocation. As a result, innocent civilians including women, children and elderly persons, are being compelled to live in constant fear and uncertainty. The people remain vulnerable to stray bullets, destruction of homes and properties, forced displacements and the ever-present risks to human lives.”

The committee called for peace and harmony in the village.

Besides, Kuki CSO Working Committee (WCKCSOs), Ukhrul district, (a Kuki civil body’s committee) claimed that while the Kuki village volunteers, while patrolling along the Kampa Mol (Mount Compass) ridges—recognised as shared cultivated land belonging to the Kuki villages of Yaolen Chepu, Mongkot Chepu, Lamlai Chingphei, and Mulam, “encountered some Tangkhul militants in the shared border area between Tangkhul Naga and Kuki villages that broke out gunfire.”

The statement further added that “The Kuki people remain resolute—while peace is our preference, the defence of our land, our rights, and our people is non-negotiable.”