Imphal: Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed in a suspected militant ambush in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, predominantly inhabited by Tangkhul Naga, on Monday afternoon.Manipur Police said “suspected militants ambushed a vehicle on NH-202 near Noungshong Kong village, under Ukhrul police station”.Security forces rushed to the site of attack and there was exchange of fire. Further operations are underway to neutralise the militants, the police said in the statement.Sources said two AR personnel identified as Warrant Officer Balwant Singh and constable CM Singh, who was reportedly driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, were critically injured in the ambush. Both later succumbed to their injuries.The incident took place at around 2 pm when personnel of the 40 Assam Rifles were travelling to their battalion headquarters at Shangshak from Ukhrul headquarters. The attack occurred about 17 km from Ukhrul district headquarters.Monday’s ambush marks the second major fatal attack on Assam Rifles personnel since the outbreak of the Manipur ethnic conflict in May 2023, following the September 2025 assault in Nambol in Bishnupur district that killed two and injured five other personnel.According to local villagers, heavy gunfire and multiple explosions rocked the area for nearly two hours, sending panic through nearby villages.Chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and strongly condemned the attack.He expressed deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the two Assam Rifles personnel. He maintained the government will not tolerate such acts of violence and will not remain a mute spectator to these atrocities. “Culprits responsible will be arrested soon,” a statement from the CM office said.The circumstances surrounding the ambush and the identity of the attackers were not immediately known. No militant group has claimed responsibility, and the Assam Rifles has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.But, the NSCN(IM), which has its stronghold in Ukhrul district, said the ambush is suspected to have been carried out by a “breakaway Eastern Flank faction”.In a statement, the NSCN(IM) said it has no connection with the Eastren Flank as “no Eastern Flank exists in the Naga army” and added it had neither any role in nor prior knowledge of the Monday’s incident.NSCN(IM) Hebron headquarters last month formally expelled two of its senior-most commanders of the Myanmar-based Eastern Flank accusing them of mutiny, rebellion and forming a “breakaway parallel organisation”, in what is widely seen organisational rupture within the NSCN(IM).Reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process, the outfit said it would never engage in any action that could undermine or derail the political negotiations. It also condemned acts capable of creating mistrust and jeopardising the peace process.
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