By the river, armed men came. Then there was smoke, screams & a Manipur village in ruins

As India celebrated Republic Day, insurgents torched six houses in K Songlung(II) village, reviving a decades-old ethnic conflict, this time between the Kukis and Nagas.

Security personnel deployed at K Songlung(II) village in Kangpokpi district, Manipur | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Kangpokpi: As the country was celebrating Republic Day, Kimeilen Haokip walked to a nearby river with his father to repair the water turbine powering their home. Before they could start work, armed men with heavy guns emerged, bound their hands, blindfolded them and dragged them.

Soon, Kimeilen (28) could smell smoke, hear his mother and grandfather screaming, and the crack of gunfire piercing the air.

By the time they were released, their wooden house was reduced to ashes—the jeep gutted, the WiFi connection Kimeilen had installed just a day earlier destroyed, and the meal his mother had been preparing left to burn with the rest.

That day, armed men stormed K Songlung(II) village in Kangpokpi district, about 45 from Manipur’s capital Imphal. They torched at least six households there, forcing villagers to flee. Hours later, Naga insurgent group Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We were shocked. There was nothing left. The armed men kept screaming that this area belongs to the Manipuri Nagas,” said Kimeilen, still wearing the same black T-shirt and trousers he had on the day his house was torched.

Villagers told ThePrint they ran from house to house, trying to salvage what they could as flames consumed their homes.

The 26 January-attack marked a dangerous escalation in Manipur’s ongoing unrest—this time between Kukis and Nagas. The strife-torn state has been on edge since 2023, when violence erupted between the Kuki and Meitei communities.

The Nagas and Kukis were embroiled in an ethnic clash in the 1990s, considered one of the longest in the region, lasting nearly six years and driven largely by land disputes. The conflict left hundreds dead and displaced thousands. Peace was brokered, but relations between the two have remained terse ever since.

Kimeilen Haokip (right) and his father outside their burnt house | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Territorial claims and denials

After the attack, ZUF—which has bases in Tamenglong, Noney and parts of Kangpokpi district—issued a statement, calling the raid an “enforcement action” against illegal poppy cultivation, narcotics trafficking and unauthorised structures. It described the area as the “ancestral, customary and historical territory of the Zeliangrong Inpui Naga people”.
Villagers denied cultivating poppy and alleged that the insurgent group was attempting to occupy their land.

Kimeilen’s father Shemkholala Haokip said it wasn’t the first time that the rebel group had targeted their village.

In November last year, some rebels broke the village sign board and threatened residents to vacate the village.

Villagers filed a police complaint, but no action was taken, Shemkholala said.

According to documents accessed by ThePrint, police wrote to the CRPF seeking deployment of the forces in Loibol Khullen and Songlung villages of the district.

A CRPF commandant responded, saying in the communication dated 8 December 2025: “This is to inform that establishing a new CRPF post requires approval from higher authorities of the CRPF. Hence, the case may be taken up with the higher authorities of Manipur Police in coordination with the Manipur and Nagaland Sector, CRPF.”

No platoon was created at the time.

One of Kimeilen’s pet cats was injured in the blaze | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Call for action

Following the 26 January raid, the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki civil society organisation, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Manipur state administration, demanding action against the perpetrators.

COTU said this was the fourth attack carried out by the ZUF in the region and condemned roadblocks imposed by the insurgent group that had restricted civilian movement.

A CRPF platoon was deployed in Songlung village on 27 January.

“Had they created it earlier, this incident would not have taken place,” Shemkholala said. He added, “This is our land and the issue was settled in the 1990s. They are trying to provoke further tensions.”

A Manipur Police official told ThePrint the 26 January attack is under investigation.

(Edited by Prerna Madan)