User:Sailingsmooth5/Aigejang Shooting

Aigejang Shooting
Part of 2023-2024 Manipur violence
Date 13 June 2023 Location Aigejang, Kangpokpi, Manipur, India Result Meitei attackers eventually leave Aigejang
Belligerents
Meitei assailants United National Liberation Front	Kuki villagers
Strength
Thousands	Unknown
Casualties and losses
11 killed 3 executed 23 injured	Unknown

The Aigejang Shooting, otherwise known as the Aigejang Massacre, occurred on 13 June 2023, when Kuki assailants, either volunteers or militants, launched an attack on a group of Meitei men, suspected to be militants or mob members, inside a church on the outskirts of the Kuki village of Aigejang in the Khamenlok area of Kangpokpi, Manipur.

Background

Manipur Violence

As part of the 2023-2024 Manipur violence, dozens of violent incidents had occurred in Kangpokpi District prior to the events in Aigejang. However, Aigejang itself, despite being a border village between the two communities, had not seen significant violence by the start of June 2023, despite escalating tensions between communities in the region. The area had, in the past days, seen an influx of people from other parts of the state, specifically Meitei volunteers claiming to "defend" the Meitei-dominated parts. On June 12, 2023, an adjacent village to Aigejang had been burnt down by these volunteers.

Attack on Aigejang

On 13 June 2023, starting at around 6 PM, thousands of armed Meitei assailants, including UNLF cadres, began to move into Kuki villages, burning down eight villages in the lower foothills in a short amount of time. They also reportedly burned down houses at the Kuki village of Aigejang in Kangpokpi, Manipur. Kuki village chiefs alleged that state police and IRB personnel aided the Meitei assailants, although the validity of these claims remains uncertain. Security personnel from Assam Rifles and the Indian Army dispatched to the area were reportedly blocked by hundreds of Meira Paibis at Chanung. Following the attack, the mob occupied parts of the outskirts of the village.

Incident

The same day, unidentified Kuki assailants, attacked a group of Meitei men with gunfire and bombs while they were resting inside a church on the outskirts of Aigejang in the Khamenlok area of Kangpokpi, Manipur. It is suspected that the Meitei individuals attacked were part of the aforementioned mob. The exchange resulted in the death of at least 11 Meitei individuals, with 23 others sustaining injuries. Additionally, three Meitei individuals were abducted by the Kuki assailants, who claimed to have subsequently killed them. The motive is generally considered to have been revenge for the burning of Aigejang and to clear the region of Meitei assailants.

The victims claimed that they had went to deliver food to the Meitei assailants, and that they were told to stay inside the church by the militants as it had been raining, before they were suddenly fired upon. They denied being combatants and claimed that the armed volunteers were too far away to have put up any resistance.