Imphal : Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam on Saturday visited the violence-hit villages of Kamjong district where at least 21 civilians are alleged to have gone missing following a coordinated militant attack near the India-Myanmar border earlier this week.

The attack, which took place on May 7, targeted the remote villages of Wanglee, Namli and Z Choro along the sensitive border belt in Kamjong district. Several people were injured, houses were set ablaze and panic spread across the region after armed assailants reportedly stormed the settlements.

During his visit, the Home Minister interacted with villagers, local representatives and security officials to assess the ground situation and review security arrangements in the affected areas.

Speaking to reporters, Konthoujam said the government was treating the incident with utmost seriousness and that possible lapses in security deployment were being examined.

“The government is always concerned about the protection of people and their property. There may have been certain security lapses and those are being looked into so that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.

On allegations that the assault involved cross-border militants and amounted to foreign aggression, the minister said no official report confirming such claims had yet been submitted to the government.

“If evidence of foreign aggression is established, the matter will be taken up with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Defence Ministry,” he added.

Konthoujam also stressed the need to expedite border fencing to curb infiltration and illegal cross-border movement. He said the fencing exercise was being carried out on a “war footing” and that the completion target had been advanced from 2029 to 2028.

The minister, accompanied by other MLAs, also visited a shelter camp at Namlee village where hundreds of Myanmar nationals displaced by the ongoing conflict and political instability in Myanmar are currently taking refuge.

Sources said more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals have taken shelter in different parts of Kamjong district after crossing into border areas amid continuing unrest in the neighbouring country.

Local leaders alleged that militants based across the Myanmar border were responsible for the attack.

Machinmi Shinglai, Vice Chairman of Leimashen Chingsang, claimed that a combined group of Myanmar-based People’s Defence Force (PDF) militants and KNIB militants carried out the assault on the villages.

“We were not expecting such an incident. According to information from villagers, a combination of Myanmar-based PDF militants and KNIB militants attacked the villages,” he alleged.

Shinglai further claimed that around 21 civilians were abducted during the violence and that there has been no information regarding their whereabouts so far.

“Among the missing is also a Tangkhul woman identified as Alisa from Tangpat village who was staying at Namli market,” he said.

He also pointed to the lack of adequate security infrastructure in the area, stating that the nearest police station at Kasom Khullen is located nearly 25 to 30 kilometres away, while the Namli police outpost allegedly had no personnel deployed during the incident.

“We request immediate deployment of state security forces. People here feel safer with the state forces and stronger protection is urgently needed,” he added.

Meanwhile, security forces have intensified combing, surveillance and domination operations across the surrounding border areas following the attack.