5 killed in fresh Kuki-Naga clashes in Manipur, 10 houses torched

Five people, including a woman, have been killed in fresh ethnic clashes among Kuki armed groups (or village volunteers) and Naga armed groups in Kamjong and Ukhrul districts of Manipur on Saturday. This incident of violence began when a 22-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were killed in the Kuki-dominated Chassad village in Naga-majority Kamjong district.

The woman was a mother of five, was shot in the neck on Friday night and died within minutes, according to officials. The clashes that followed between the Kuki and Naga groups resulted in the burning of 10 houses and the killing of the man.

The District Authorities have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 162 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) within a 400-metre radius of Chassad police gate junction to prevent further violence. The restrictions prohibit the assembly of five or more people.

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In a separate incident, two people were killed in a separate targeted attack in Ningchou village, a Tangkhul Naga settlement located in the Kamjong District near the India-Myanmar border. The two victims have been identified as 35-year-old Ngachanso Ningshen and 48-year-old Leishisan Hungyo. The attack was carried out by suspected militants, and they fled towards the Myanmar side after firing.

In a separate incident in Ukhrul district, suspected militants shot at a 40-year-old man, Sandeep Rai, inside his vehicle. He died inside the vehicle he was driving.

More than 40 people have been killed and dozens of houses torched since violence between Kuki and Naga communities broke out in February this year. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless since the ethnic conflict between Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups began in May 2023.