New Delhi: A day after a woman was killed and three others were injured in Manipur, a suspected militant attack has claimed the lives of four Naga individuals in Ukhrul district, the police said.
Friday morning’s violence comes a day after ThePrint reported a gunfight that erupted around 11 am near Taphou Kuki village in Kangpokpi district and Kailengjang in neighbouring Senapati district on Thursday. A woman belonging to the Kuki community died, and two others were injured. A few hours later, at around 3 pm, suspected Kuki miscreants opened fire on Naga farmers working in a paddy field in Sinakeithei village in Ukhrul district, which borders both Senapati and Kangpokpi districts, injuring one man.
A senior police officer from Manipur told ThePrint that “suspected Kuki militants ambushed civilian vehicles near New Haven village in Ukhrul District. There was a Bolero Camper, and a Swift Dzire.” He said that two occupants from each vehicle died in the ambush, including two men and two women. The incident took place at around 1 pm on Friday, he said.
The police have identified the deceased persons as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleila R.S.—both residents of Shangshak village (son and mother)—and August Ngalung and Khanmila—siblings who were residents of Tashar village.
Manipur has been reeling under ethnic conflict since May 2023, when violence first broke out between two of the three dominant communities of the state–the Meiteis and Kukis. Violence briefly subsided after President’s Rule was imposed in February last year following the resignation of then chief minister N. Biren Singh. Tensions picked up again after President’s Rule ended this February, and Yumnam Khemchand Singh was appointed chief minister.
This time around, the ethnic clashes shifted from Meiteis and Kukis to Kukis and Nagas. Over 300 people, across all three communities, have been killed in the violence since 2023, and more than 60,000 displaced. As escalations continue to flare up within Naga and Kuki groups, a senior Manipur Police officer said controlling the Kuki-Naga clashes in some hill districts with mixed populations from both communities becomes challenging for security forces at times.
The Indigenous People’s Forum, Manipur, issued a statement condemning the attack. “It is heartbreaking that Kapangkhui RS and Haoleila RS were son and mother, while August Ngalung and Khanmila were siblings. This heinous incident reflects the continuing war against the indigenous peoples of Manipur, allegedly perpetrated by Kuki narco-terrorist elements.”
It added: “The Forum strongly questions the repeated security failures along National Highways and demands an impartial investigation into the circumstances of the attack, including serious concerns over possible collusion or negligence by elements of the security forces.”
The Forum also urged the Centre to stop the “proxy war against the indigenous peoples of Manipur and take decisive action against armed elements and cross-border networks involved in violence”.
Meanwhile, the Kuki KSO Working Committee in Ukhrul also issued a statement saying the incident must be unequivocally condemned, irrespective of community or identity. It added that the Kuki-Zo community “categorically denies any involvement in the New Heaven ambush and firmly rejects any attempt to implicate it without credible and verifiable evidence”.
The committee warned that “this tragedy must not be exploited to manufacture communal narratives, assign collective blame or justify action against an innocent community”.
“The identity, motive and possible affiliations of the perpetrators, including any connection with the ongoing internal conflict involving NSCN factions, must be thoroughly investigated. Responsibility must be established through evidence, not assumptions or convenient communal attribution,” it said.
The committee also said that it was “gravely apprehensive” that this incident may once again be used as a “pretext for searches, detentions, intimidation or security operations in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas”.
ThePrint has reached out to the Naga United Council and the Naga People’s Network Forum for comment via text and phone calls. This report will be updated when a response is received.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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