Two killed in alleged Kuki extremists’ attack in Manipur

Alleged Kuki extremists attacked a Liangmai Naga village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Friday (August 14, 2026) morning, killing two people and injuring two others.

The incident at Langka Naga village in the Kuki-majority district marked the return of violence to the restive State.

The Working Committee of Tangkhul Naga Long (WC-TNL), an apex body of the Tangkhul community, claimed that 50 gunmen, backed by extremist groups Kuki National Front (KNF) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), attacked the village at around 7.30 a.m.. The two outfits are among the 25 Kuki-Zomi armed groups that signed Suspension of Operations agreements with the Centre in 2008.

The WC-TNL said the Naga men killed were identified as Wiriliangbou Chawang, 35, and Kawidinang Abonmai, 54. The injured were Maliangjinang Abonmai, 50, and Namthiulungbou Prinmai, 45.

The Naga organisation said the KNF and the KRA engaged in armed violence against the Nagas after Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand issued a 15-day deadline for armed volunteers to surrender their weapons.

“All this while, the Naga civil volunteers have maintained restraint, restricting themselves in defending the village and protecting the innocent civilians,” the WC-TNL said, asking 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 been witnessing incidents of killings and arson, involving the Kukis and Nagas, since February. The violence has been largely in Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts.

Government accountability

The WC-TNL said the inability of the government to act against the Kuki extremists would be construed as a strategic political movement against the Nagas by the present dispensation in Manipur.

Condemning Friday’s attack, the Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur, declared an immediate “total shutdown” across all Liangmai Naga-inhabited areas of the State until further notice. It appealed to all members of the committee to remain calm and united, and urged the authorities to bring the attackers to justice.

The Liangmai Nagas have recently been at the receiving end of the Kuki-Naga conflict in Manipur following the killing of three Thadou church leaders in Kangpokpi district on May 13. The killing triggered a hostage crisis, which ended with the recovery of the bodies of six Liangmai Naga captives on June 10.

Meanwhile, the security forces recovered more than 2,000 live rounds of ammunition and five firearms during a joint search operation in Manipur’s Kakching district on Friday. The firearms included three INSAS rifles.

Friday also saw the Central Reserve Police Force expanding its security arrangements for the movement of essential supplies along the Jiribam-Imphal route (National Highway 37). The force deployed additional escorts for 424 loaded trucks and fuel tankers amid a severe transport crisis.

On Thursday, stranded truckers called a 24-hour strike after a driver was found dead in his vehicle. The truckers said they were running out of cash to buy food, water, and medicines due to blockades and landslides that were impeding the movement of goods-carrying vehicles on the highway.