GUWHATI: Two Naga village volunteers were killed while two others from the community were injured when alleged Kuki rebels carried out an attack in Manipur on Friday.
The incident occurred at Langka Naga village in the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district at around 7:30 am. Incidents of killings and arson attacks, involving the two communities, have occurred intermittently since February this year.
The Working Committee of Naga organisation Tangkhul Naga Long alleged that 50 Kuki rebels, backed by insurgent groups Kuki National Front (KNF) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), carried out the attack.
The organisation identified the deceased as Wiriliangbou Chawang (35) and Kawidinang Abonmai (54), and the injured as Maliangjinang Abonmai (50) and Namthiulungbou Prinmai (45).
It alleged that the KNF and the KRA, which signed the Suspension of Operation agreement with the central government earlier, were rampantly engaging in armed violence against the Nagas since Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh issued a 15-day deadline for armed volunteers to surrender their weapons.
“All this while, the Naga civil volunteers have maintained restraint, restricting themselves to defending the village and protecting the innocent civilians,” the organisation said.
It emphasised that the state government must act against the “armed Kukis and their offending militants involved in ambush, abduction, extortion, loot, arson and killings.”
“In case the government fails to act responsibly in time, the ongoing conflict that has the tendency to escalate further considering the Kukis’ overture to the present crisis will be construed as a strategic political movement against the Nagas by the present political dispensation,” the organisation further said.
Meanwhile, condemning the attack, the Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur declared an immediate “total shutdown” of all Liangmai Naga-inhabited areas of the state until further notice.
The council appealed to all members of the community to remain calm and united. It urged authorities to take immediate and decisive measures to ensure the safety and security of the public and to bring the perpetrators to justice.