Village volunteers who went to gather firewood at the Kadanband hilltop under Lamsang Police Station in Imphal West, Manipur were attacked with gunfire by Kuki militants, resulting in a retaliation and a reported injury of one Kuki militant around 2.55 pm on Saturday.
As per sources, around 10 village volunteers of Kadangband village climbed the Kadangband hill, which is situated behind Kharam Thadoi, to gather firewood around 2.30 pm. As they were resting for a while after reaching the hilltop, Kuki militants wearing camouflage uniforms launched a surprise attack by firing around 10-20 gunshots on them from a close range.
On hearing the gunshots, the village volunteers quickly positioned themselves and retaliated with several rounds of firing. They reportedly saw a kuki militant fall on some bushes from behind a tree where he was hiding himself.
Around 5-10 minutes of firing, the village volunteers retreated as they did not carry enough arms and ammunition to protect themselves, sources said.
