India’s Home Minister Amit Shah said he was “extremely pained” by the news that civilians were killed in a shooting incident late on Saturday night.
“The state government will conduct a thorough and thorough investigation into this incident to ensure justice for the bereaved families,” the minister added on Twitter.
Nagaland chief minister Nhbiyo Rio told Reuters he would open an investigation to “punish those responsible for the incident”, which he attributed to an “intelligence glitch”.
A Defense Ministry official in New Delhi said at least 12 civilians and some members of the security forces were injured.
Security sources said the forces fired at a truck, and later on a crowd that had gathered to protest the attack.
“The situation in the entire Mon area is currently very tense,” a Nagaland police officer added.
Locals in Nagaland have often accused Indian forces of targeting them by mistake, during operations against insurgent groups in the area.
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