A video circulating on social media has captured the frightening moment when a group of school students took cover behind a treeline by a stream in Pukhao, as gunfire rang out in the distance.
The incident occurred amidst escalating ethnic tensions in Manipur, where clashes between rival armed groups have become increasingly common.
The area where the incident took place, just 15 km from Khamenlok village in Senapati district, has been a hotspot for violence in recent months. The dense topography, comprising both valley and hill regions, has become a battleground for warring factions.
According to the students in the video, they were playing football near the foothills of Pukhao when they heard bullets flying dangerously close to them. With nowhere to run, they huddled together, fearing for their lives as the crackling of gunfire grew louder.
Advertisement
In the footage, one boy can be heard remarking on the alarming proximity of the bullets, stating, "That was very close."
Another student recounted, "We were playing football when they started shooting at us."
A third boy, clad in a yellow T-shirt and pressed against a cluster of bamboo trees, tightly hugged his knees, his gaze fixed ahead as a bullet landed on the opposite side of the stream, kicking up dust.
"There, right there," one of the boys pointed out, indicating the source of the gunfire.
Additionally,a 25-year-old man died in a shootout between two armed factions in Pukhao, as reported by police authorities. An army officer also sustained injuries while advancing towards a location on the periphery of Imphal East district where gunfire had been detected.
