New Delhi: Since a new government took over in Manipur this year, the ethnic clashes in the state have taken on a new shape and turn. At least 27 people have been killed and over 100 houses torched in clashes between the Kuki-Zo and Nagas since the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh took over on 4 February. The latest incident occurred Tuesday when two Kuki women shot by unidentified persons.
Yumnam Khemchand Singh became chief minister after a year of President’s Rule following the resignation of N. Biren Singh. After the formation of the new government, a fresh ethnic conflict began, between the Kuki-Zo and Nagas. The ethnic conflict that began in May 2023 was so far marked largely by violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meiteis.
The first incident of violence was reported in the Litan Sareikhong area of Manipur’s Ukhrul district, three days after the formation of the new government in the state. On 7 February, a group of Kuki-Zo people allegedly assaulted a Tangkhul man.
The situation escalated the following afternoon, when Naga villagers approached the chief of Litan Sareikhong village and demanded that the culprits be produced before them. A few people, including a police officer, were injured in stone pelting that evening. An arson attack followed, during which members of an armed group allegedly fired shots. The matter escalated further on 8 and 9 February, when the two tribal communities—Kuki-Zo and Naga—torched each other’s houses for two subsequent days.
The incident left several injured who were moved to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal. Ukhrul District Magistrate Asish Das had then told the media that people from both communities torched five to six houses before dawn on 8 February. “The fire spread due to a strong wind, and 20 houses were burnt,” he said.
Following this, two children—a five-year-old boy and a six-month-old girl—were killed and their mother injured after a bomb attack in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on 7 April. The incident occurred at 1 am when a bomb was hurled by militants at a house in Moirang Tronglaobi area, when the two minors and their mother were sleeping, the police said.
Subsequently, locals staged several protests across the Imphal Valley. During this, the police opened fire after a mob attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) near Tronglaobi, accusing the force of failing to protect residents of the valley. The firing led to the death of at least three persons and injured close to 30 people.
On 13 May, three Kuki church leaders and their driver, who were on their way from Churachandpur to Kangpokpi, were killed in an ambush by suspected militants from the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), an active Naga insurgent group. This led to the Kuki taking 20 Nagas hostage, while the Nagas then took 28 Kukis hostage.
Nearly a month later, on 10 June, six mutilated bodies from the Naga hostages held by the Kukis were found by security personnel from Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. This sparked fresh of violence between the two communities.
Between 1 and 2 July, several reports of arson were reported from Kuki and Naga villages. On 1 July, at least 29 houses were set ablaze in both Phaimol, a Kuki village and Shangkhalok, a Tangkhul Naga village. A third incident on the same day was reported from Huimine Thana, a Tangkhul Naga village where several houses were set ablaze. A day later, several houses in was set ablaze in a Kuki village of Noney district,
With continued escalation, fresh violence was reported on 24 August after several houses were set ablaze and a firing incident left a 54-year-old paramilitary soldier injured. Three days later, unidentified gunmen on ambushed and killed four Naga civilians between Makui Ashang and Thanamba Naga villages in Manipur’s Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. On 31 August, at least three people died and four others were injured in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district along the IT Road after unidentified persons opened fire, Superintendent of Police (Kangpokpi) Abhinav told ThePrint.
On 13 September, unidentified gunmen killed four civilians from the Kuki-Zo community, including two women, in two separate incidents. Although no armed group claimed responsibility, Kuki-Zo organisations blamed the attacks on the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, or NSCN (Isak-Muivah), and the ZUF.
The first attack was allegedly carried out around 4 am at Tollen village in Tamenglong district. One Seineh Singsit and his wife Lhingzangai were killed, and their six-year-old son was injured. The woman allegedly died on the spot, while her husband succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital. The minor is undergoing treatment with a bullet reportedly lodged inside his body.
Meanwhile, the second incident occurred around 3 pm at Longpi village in Noney district. Local residents said the gunmen ambushed three persons transporting rice, killing two of them on the spot. The deceased were identified as Julie Gangte and Thangroel Gangte. The third person, a woman, was reported missing.
On 15 September, unidentified gunmen shot two Kuki women in Leisangphai village around 3 pm, the police said. They were identified as Phalneiching alias Chonga Sitlhou (78) and Kimjalhing alias Kimneo Singson (28) According to sources, Sitlhou was collecting firewood when the assailants fired at her, while Singson, who had returned home to assist her parents with farming after completing a nursing course, was shot dead at the same place.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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