A fresh factional gunfight between two rival factions of the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) broke out in Noney district early today, leaving at least one cadre dead and six others injured, according to sources.
The clash reportedly erupted around 6:30 am at Nungtek village under Noney police station, involving the ZUF-Jenchui (ZUF-J) and ZUF-Kamson (ZUF-K) factions. The exchange of fire was described as heavy, with casualties reported on the ZUF-J side.
The deceased was identified as Jagailung, 29, a self-styled Second Lieutenant of ZUF-J from Muktina. He reportedly died from bullet injuries sustained during the gunfight.
Six ZUF-J cadres were also reportedly wounded. One of the injured, identified as Sharon Inpui, 30, son of R. Athun of Puichi, Noney, sustained bullet entry wounds to the right side of his chest and right arm, besides multiple splinter injuries. He is undergoing treatment at Shija Hospital, Langol, while the remaining five injured are receiving treatment at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS).
The latest clash comes barely a day after another violent confrontation between the same two factions at Oktan village in Noney district.
According to police sources, the Oktan clash took place between around 3:30 pm and 4 pm yesterday, approximately 21 km northeast of Noney police station. A police officer said Dingtiplung Gonmei alias Nguiba Gonmei, the self-styled chief secretary of ZUF-K, was reported killed in that confrontation.
Today’s gunfight was reportedly heard from the area between Nungtek Part II and Haochong, around 5 km northeast of the Noney district headquarters. Attempts by local Meira Paibi members and police personnel to reach the site were reportedly unsuccessful due to security concerns.
The back-to-back clashes have sharply heightened concerns over an intensifying internal conflict between the two ZUF factions in the Noney-Haochong belt. The violence has also raised questions over the ability of the ceasefire mechanism to contain armed confrontations between factions of the same organisation.
There was no immediate official statement from either faction on the latest incident. Police authorities had also not officially confirmed the casualties reported in today’s firing at the time of filing this report.
The Zeliangrong United Front is an armed underground organisation that entered into a tripartite Suspension of Operations agreement with the Government of India and the Government of Manipur on December 27–28, 2022, in New Delhi.
Under the agreement, a Joint Monitoring Group was constituted to oversee compliance with the agreed ground rules. The successive clashes between rival factions, however, have brought renewed scrutiny to the enforcement of those ground rules and the effectiveness of the existing monitoring mechanism.
