Guwahati, Sept 3: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomerate of civil society organisations of Manipur, has demanded immediate action against the perpetrators of Monday’s drone attack in Meitei-dominated Imphal West district that reportedly injured three persons.
The group also condemned the attack on Meitei villages allegedly by armed immigrant Kuki groups using an ambulance on Sunday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, COCOMI media coordinator Yumkhaibam Surjitkumar Khuman said that the “Manipur police have clearly stated that several highly sophisticated drones were used by Kuki militants to carry out the attack at Koutruk villages.”
“Armed immigrant Kuki groups used an ambulance to infiltrate Meetei villages under the guise of essential emergency services, leading to the killing of a 31-year-old mother and injuring her daughter and nine other village volunteers in Koutruk, Imphal West district on September 1, 2024,” Khuman said.
“The ambulance was confirmed to have come from the Leimakhong area, which houses one of the largest army camps. The Kuki narco-terrorists have grossly violated and misused the sanctity of a humanitarian service vehicle, committing an inhumane crime that reflects their lack of moral ethical integrity,” he stated.
“COCOMI revealed through social media, including the ambulance’s registration number. If the state government fails to take appropriate action, public trust in the current administration could erode, leading to potentially extreme measures being taken to avenge the mother’s death and her daughter’s injuries.
Notably, Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh termed the attack as an “act of terrorism” and condemned “such cowardly acts in the strongest terms”.
“Dropping of bombs on civilian population and security forces by using drones is an act of terrorism and I condemn such cowardly acts in the strongest terms,” the chief minister stated in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Manipur state government takes such unprovoked assault with utmost seriousness and will take up necessary responses to fight such forms of terrorism upon the indigenous population. We denounce all forms of violence, and the people of Manipur shall unite together against hate, division and separatism,” Singh said.