Manipur: Two killed in alleged Kuki extremist attack on Naga village

Two people were killed and two others injured in an alleged attack by Kuki extremist groups on a Liangmai Naga village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Friday morning, according to a Naga civil body.

The Working Committee of Tangkhul Naga Long (WC-TNL), an apex body of the Tangkhul community, claimed that about 50 gunmen, backed by the Kuki National Front (KNF) and the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), attacked Langka Naga village around 7.30 a.m. The deceased were identified as Wiriliangbou Chawang, 35, and Kawidinang Abonmai, 54. The injured were Maliangjinang Abonmai, 50, and Namthiulungbou Prinmai, 45.

Both KNF and KRA are among the 25 Kuki-Zomi armed groups that signed Suspension of Operations agreements with the Centre in 2008. The WC-TNL said the attack came after Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand issued a 15-day deadline for armed volunteers to surrender their weapons.

The Naga organisation stated that its civil volunteers had shown restraint, limiting themselves to defending the village and protecting civilians. It urged the State government to act against the 'armed Kukis and their militants involved in ambush, abduction, extortion, loot, arson and killings.'

The hills of Manipur have witnessed recurring violence between Kuki and Naga communities since February, with incidents concentrated in Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts. Friday's attack marked a fresh escalation after weeks of relative calm. The region has been on edge since the killing of three Thadou church leaders in Kangpokpi on May 13, which led to a hostage crisis and the recovery of six Liangmai Naga captives' bodies on June 10.

Condemning the attack, the Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur, declared an immediate 'total shutdown' across all Liangmai Naga-inhabited areas until further notice. It appealed for calm and unity, and urged authorities to bring the attackers to justice.

The WC-TNL also warned that the government's inability to act against the alleged attackers would be construed as a strategic political movement against the Nagas by the present dispensation in Manipur. The claims could not be independently verified.

In a separate development, security forces recovered more than 2,000 live rounds of ammunition and five firearms, including three INSAS rifles, during a joint search operation in Kakching district on Friday.

The Central Reserve Police Force expanded its security arrangements for the movement of essential supplies along the Jiribam-Imphal route (National Highway 37), deploying additional escorts for 424 loaded trucks and fuel tankers amid a severe transport crisis. The move followed a 24-hour strike by stranded truckers on Thursday after a driver was found dead in his vehicle. Truckers reported shortages of cash for food, water, and medicines due to blockades and landslides impeding the highway.