Fresh gun fight reported at Litan

OSR/Correspondents
UKL/IMP/KPI, Mar 23: Escalating the already tense situation, a fresh gun fight erupted in Mongkot Chepu and Litan areas on Monday.
Sources said that suspected Kuki militants opened fire indiscriminately at around 1 pm from their bunkers, endangering free movement of the public on Imphal-Ukhrul highway.  
Tangkhul village volunteers retaliated resulting in an intense exchange of firing.
The incident of arm confrontation was reported from nearby a waiting-shed separated by the Thoubal river that runs through Shikiphung village of Ukhrul district.
The intermittent gun fight lasted for more than 5 hours, said the sources.
According to locals, Kukis were constructing another bunker on the hill slope.
Though the exact reports of casualties cannot be ascertained till the time of filing this report, it was said that a woman of Mongkot Chepu village was injured and she was taken to hospital in a BSF ambulance.
Meanwhile, the Tangkhul Naga Foothills Organization (TNFO) has rejected a statement made by Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul.
The CWC, TNFO has asserted "the visual evidence strongly suggests that structured digging activity was carried out for the construction of drains and bunkers by Kuki volunteers, reportedly led by Kuki militants along with their women’s wing under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) arrangement.
"It was never a social work as mentioned in the viral video or engaging solely in agricultural work as claimed by the Kuki CSO Working Committee Ukhrul. The individuals were building multiple bunkers above the National Highway 202. From this point the Kuki armed militants have been attacking the Tangkhul Nagas" added the press statement of CWC, TNFO.
The CWC, TNFO also warned that such conflicting narratives must be addressed transparently.
Misleading statements in a conflict situation risk undermining public trust and may be used to create a false narrative of victimhood, it added.
On the other hand, the Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul said that it was the Tangkhul armed volunteers who opened indiscriminate fire from an elevated hilltop position across the Thoubal River when Mongkot Chepu villagers including women were engaged in routine agricultural work.
According to the working committee, a young girl sustained a gunshot injury in the firing.
More than 20 villagers were trapped in open fields, unable to flee to safety as bullets continued to rain down. The attackers deliberately targeted unarmed villagers, exposing them to life-threatening danger.
The trapped farmers along with the injured girl were later rescued and evacuated in the evening by the army, it said.
The committee has called for  immediate cessation of firing and safe evacuation of all stranded villagers.
It has also demanded the Government and security agencies to secure the Ukhrul highway and nearby areas to prevent further civilian casualties; comprehensive combing operations in suspected locations to neutralize armed elements and  strict accountability and exemplary action against those responsible.
The Mangkot Chepu Village Authority has condemned the incident, demanding the Government and its agencies concerned to act swiftly to prevent further escalation. A late report said two persons identified as Lhingneinem Lhangum (19) and Seigoulun Khongsai (18) have suffered injuries in the firing incident.