Two Kukis Shot Dead, Several Houses Burnt by Suspected Militants in Manipur's Kamjong

Two civilians from the Kuki community were gunned down and several houses were burned as suspected militants launched an early morning attack on Kultuh Kuki village in Manipur’s Kamjong district on Thursday. 

The incident occurred at approximately 4:55 AM in the small village. According to the police, some 30 houses near the Myanmar-border-area were also burnt. While security forces have since reached the remote area, the official identity of the perpetrators is yet to be established, said the official.

The attack comes just a day after police recovered bodies of six Naga civilians in Kangpokpi district, who were suspected to have been held hostage by armed groups.

Kuki Inpi Manipur Releases a Statement

Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), a tribal student body, condemned what it described as a "pre-dawn massacre and arson" at Kultuh Kuki village in Kamjong district. In a formal statement, KIM alleged that the attack was carried out by a combined force of Tangkhul NSCN-IM cadres and Myanmar-based Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) militants. 

The organisation claimed that two church workers were killed, mutilated and their bodies burnt during the assault. It further alleged that eyewitnesses had reported the involvement of some Tangkhul civilians in facilitating the attack. 

Calling the incident as an “external aggression rather than an internal clash”, the Kuki body demanded an independent judicial inquiry alongside the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and any local collaborators. The organization also called for stronger security along the Indo-Myanmar border and immediate compensation for the families of the victims.

Concluding its statement, KIM also accused the Centre of failing to secure the border, warning that continued inaction in the face of what it termed “clear external aggression” remains entirely “unacceptable”.

Kuki Baptist Convention also took cognizance of the incident. Condemning the killings, it urged the authorities to take “decisive and comprehensive measures” to ensure protection of civilians.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Dr Lamtinthang Haokip claimed that “the Head Deacon of the Kultuh Church and Chairman of the Youth Department were brutally murdered”. Haokip sharply criticized the administration, alleging that the government's failure to control the situation has gone “beyond tolerance”.

(with inputs from PTI)