Ten suspected Kuki militants were killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with a unit of the Assam Rifles in the district of Chandel in Manipur.

The Assam Rifles launched an operation after it received specific intelligence about the movement of “armed cadres” near New Samtal village in the Khengjoy tehsil, located near the India-Myanmar border in the Chandel district. The Assam Rifles launched the operation along with the Army’s Spear Corps.

“During the operation, the troops were fired upon by suspected cadres to which they quickly reacted, redeployed and retaliated in a calibrated and measured manner,” the Army’s Eastern Command said. The Army said that in the gunfight that ensued, 10 suspected militants were killed, and a sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered.

The operation is still underway.

Manipur has been mired in ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities that have killed at least 260 persons and displaced more than 59,000 persons since May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024.

President’s Rule was imposed in February this year after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned.

Between April 19 and April 21, the Manipur Police arrested at least 18 alleged members of several banned outfits in the state.