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Suspected equipped extremists ambushed a squad of tribal religion leaders successful Kangpokpi territory of Manipur connected Wednesday greeting (May 13, 2026), sidesplitting 3 of them and injuring four.
The victims, members of the Thadou Baptist Association of India (TBAI) and the United Baptist Council (UBC), were travelling successful 2 vehicles from a Baptist normal successful Churachandpur to Kangpokpi erstwhile they were attacked. The incidental occurred connected the hilly Tiger Road betwixt Kotlen and Kotzim villages astir 10 a.m.
One of the survivors told information unit that the assailants came connected ft and slipped distant aft firing a volley of bullets for 3 oregon 4 minutes from the hillside of the underprepared roadworthy that connects the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts, bypassing the non-tribal Meitei-majority Imphal Valley. Kukis person been avoiding the overmuch shorter road done this vale since the taste unit betwixt the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities erupted connected May 3, 2023.
Those who mislaid their lives were TBAI president Reverend Vumthang Sitlhou, TBAI concern caput Rev. Kaigoulun Lhouvum, and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou. The TBAI president had precocious led a delegation of Kuki Christian leaders to the adjoining Nagaland to broker bid betwixt the Kukis and Tangkhul Nagas successful the restive Kamjong and Ukhrul districts of Manipur.
While 3 of the 4 injured were rushed to a backstage infirmary successful Imphal for treatment, a 5th survivor, who managed to escape, was aboriginal tracked and rescued from the hills, an authoritative told The Hindu.
“Some 8-10 equipped men are suspected to person opened occurrence connected 2 vehicles with automatic weapons, astir apt AK-47 rifles. They were apt hiding successful the hills,” the authoritative said.
According to a connection issued by the Indian Army, associated columns of information forces assisted successful evacuating the injured to the nearest aesculapian facility. “The associated columns are undertaking extended hunt and country domination operations,” an authoritative monitoring Manipur said.
Several Thadou (a conception claims it is simply a chiseled assemblage and not a constituent of the Kuki radical of tribes), Kuki, and Zomi organisations person announced a “total shutdown” successful Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and different districts to protestation the killings. The shutdown is for 3 days.
String of condemnations
Condemning the incident, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said helium visited the injured astatine the infirmary on with Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, and different MLAs to guarantee the injured get the highest modular of care. He said the authorities would carnivore their aesculapian expenses.
He said specified attacks, undermining the corporate effort of the radical to reconstruct normalcy successful Manipur, were unacceptable. “I impulse radical to instantly halt abductions, taking hostages, and intimidation connected assemblage lines,” helium said, assuring the radical that the authorities would usage each assets to bring the perpetrators and their handlers to justice.
A connection issued by the Senapati territory portion of the United Naga Council said astir 20 Nagas of Konsakhul colony were held hostage by radical from Leilon Vaiphei colony soon aft the ambush.
In the aforesaid territory dominated by the Nagas, the president of a Kuki colony urged the Senapati constabulary to merchandise 23 Kuki labourers “detained” by locals.
Nagaland’s Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, his Meghalaya and Mizoram counterparts Conrad K. Sangma and Lalduhoma besides condemned the sidesplitting of the Kuki religion leaders. “I impulse the authorities successful Manipur to instrumentality contiguous and strict enactment against those responsible,” Mr. Sangma said.
Manipur’s Naga Legislature Forum, comprising 9 MLAs, besides issued a associated statement, calling for bid and the merchandise of each Kuki and Naga civilians detained oregon abducted successful the aftermath of the “cold-blooded execution of unarmed and peace-loving spiritual leaders”.
Apart from the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, the Kuki Zo Council, and the Thadou Inpi Manipur, the Guwahati-headquartered United Christian Forum of North East India (UCFNEI) expressed grief implicit the killings of the religion leaders.
“This brutal and inhuman enactment of unit has claimed the lives of guiltless servants of God who dedicated their lives to peace, service, and the spiritual uplift of their communities,” UCFNEI spokesperson Allen Brooks said, adding that these religion leaders were “not lone spiritual shepherds but besides pillars of hope, reconciliation, and motivation guidance successful a portion agelong scarred by conflict”.
Finger-pointing begins
Almost each extremist and extremist groups, successful ceasefire oregon subversion mode, person been accused of executing the cognition against the religion leaders to complicate the law-and-order concern successful the State, yet to retrieve from the taste struggle that broke retired successful May 2023.
These outfits see the National Socialist Council of Nagalim oregon NSCN (Isak-Muivah), the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), the ZUF (Kamson), the Arambai Tenggol, and the Kuki National Army. All these groups person denied immoderate engagement successful the attack.
The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) alleged that the ambush was carried retired by the NSCN (I-M) successful “active collusion” with the ZUF arsenic a “premeditated enactment of terrorism”. The spot further stated that the victims were instrumental successful convening a bid consultation nether the auspices of the Nagaland Christian Forum, “a fragile but captious inaugural that the NSCN-IM has present answered with bullets”.
The KOHUR further said that the slain religion leaders were symbols of reconciliation, who had stood, astatine sizeable idiosyncratic risk, for dialog betwixt the Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities.
There person been a bid of attacks involving the Kukis and Tangkhul Nagas successful Manipur’s Ukhrul and Kamjong since February this year. Several lives were lost, and houses were burned down during the attacks.
A Naga organisation did not regularisation retired the anticipation of immoderate Kuki extremist groups having killed the religion leaders to sabotage the Manipur Chief Minister’s bid initiatives. The slain Baptist leaders were reportedly scheduled to conscionable the Chief Minister up of his sojourn to Churachandpur connected May 15.
The information forces, however, said the ambush could person been a lawsuit of mistaken identity. “It appears that the attackers did not cognize that religion leaders were travelling successful the 2 vehicles. Investigations are connected to place the killers,” a information authoritative said.
