5 houses set ablaze as suspected Kuki militants attack Naga village in Manipur

At least five houses were set ablaze after suspected Kuki militants attacked Chawangkining, a Naga village, in ethnic violence-hit Manipur’s Kangpokpi late on Tuesday night, triggering a gunfight. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults in the state that have left six people dead in four days.

Two Kuki women were gunned down in Tamenglong on Tuesday, two days after four people from the community were shot dead.

Police said a case has been registered over the violence in Chawangkining even as no group claimed responsibility for the attack. Daniel Charenamai, a Chawangkining resident, said heavily armed Kuki militants attacked the village around 10.30pm on Tuesday, which continued until around 5am on Wednesday.

Chawangkining, located around 13 km from Kangpokpi district headquarters, is a Naga Liangmai village situated between Naga and Kuki villages. “Other communities, including Nepalis, Mao, Rongmei, and Paomei, also live in the village. We have been living in the village with peace and harmony. Around 100 heavily armed militants launched the [Tuesday] attack and set ablaze at least five houses and my shop,” said Danniel.

He accused security forces of inaction. “Who should we blame? No security forces were able to come to our rescue. They reached this [Tuesday] morning to douse the fire. We appealed to the concerned to take necessary steps and set up a security force post in the village.”

Residents said that Naga village guards retaliated and no injuries were reported. As many as 30 Kuki and Naga have been killed since Naga-Kuki tensions erupted in February.

Four abandoned Naga homes were set on fire at Khedaghar in Tamenglong on Sunday evening in a retaliatory attack hours after four Kukis were killed in separate attacks earlier that day. The Nagas had left their homes in Khedaghar weeks ago fearing Kuki retaliation amid heightened tensions between the two communities.

A couple was among the four Kukis killed in Manipur’s Tamenglong district on Sunday while a six-year-old sustained a bullet injury.

Kukis blamed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isaac Muivah and Zeliangrong United Front-Kamson for the attacks, coinciding with the “Black Day”, which Kukis observe annually on September 13 in memory of the victims of ethnic violence during the Kuki-Naga conflict in the 1990s.

Kuki militants abducted and killed six Nagas after holding them captive for nearly a month in Kangpokpi on May 13. The killings followed a twin ambush on the same day, which killed four people. The Naga groups have been demanding the arrest of all accused involved in the killing of the six Nagas and the abrogation of the ceasefire pact with Kuki militants.

On August 31, the nine Naga legislators submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding the immediate arrest of Kuki-Zo leaders, who have claimed responsibility for the killing and dismemberment of the six Nagas, including Thangboi Kipgen, the husband of deputy chief minister Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki.

Naga and Kuki-Zo tensions escalated after the May 13 twin ambushes. On the same day, Kuki-Zo and Naga groups captured 48 people. On May 15, 14 captives each from the two communities were released. The remaining 14 Kuki-Zo hostages were freed unharmed on June 9. Mutilated bodies of the six Nagas were found the next day.

The ethnic violence in Manipur first began in 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community.

A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain balance. But sporadic violence has continued and left over 306 people dead and 49 missing since May 2023.