‘No burial till justice’: Kuki-Zo council's chilling protest after twin killings in Manipur
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘No burial till justice’: Kuki-Zo council's chilling protest after twin killings in Manipur")
File image for representation Photograph: (ANI)
The Kuki-Zo Council instructed that no community members killed by Naga armed groups be buried until justice is served, following the murder of two Kuki women in Tamenglong, amid escalating ethnic tensions in Manipur.
Manipur's spiral of ethnic violence has claimed two more lives, with the killing of two Kuki women in Tamenglong district reigniting tensions between Kuki-Zo and Naga communities, and prompting an extraordinary protest from a leading Kuki civil society body.
According to police, unidentified gunmen opened fire in Tamenglong on Tuesday afternoon, killing 78-year-old Phalneichong, also known as Chonga Sitlhou, while she was out collecting firewood. At the same location, 28-year-old Kimjalhing, known as Kimneo Singson, was also shot dead. She had recently completed her nursing course and had returned home to help her parents with farming.
The killings came just two days after four Kuki civilians were shot dead in the neighbouring Tamenglong and Noney districts, allegedly by Naga militants.
The violence did not end there. Hours after Tuesday's shooting, around 10:30 pm, armed militants attacked Chawangkining, a Naga village in Kangpokpi district, setting at least two houses on fire and exchanging gunfire with security forces stationed in the area.
The two communities have traded accusations of targeted killings through August and September. On August 27, alleged Kuki armed groups had killed four Naga civilians in Kangpokpi district, which has a Kuki majority.
Reacting to Tuesday's killings, the Kuki-Zo Council said the recurring attacks could no longer be seen as unconnected events. In a statement, the Council said the killings — allegedly involving the NSCN-IM and the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson) — reflected "an escalating pattern of attacks against Kuki-Zo civilians in Manipur," adding that the "continued targeting of civilians raises serious concerns about attempts to terrorise and drive Kuki-Zo communities from their settlements."
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The Council has called on both the state and central governments to protect civilians, bring perpetrators to justice, and take "firm, lawful action" against armed groups targeting non-combatants.
In an unprecedented mark of protest, the Kuki-Zo Council has also instructed all Kuki-Zo civil society organisations that no Kuki-Zo person killed by Naga armed groups in Manipur will be buried until further notice. The bodies of victims, the Council said, will instead be preserved in the nearest available cold-storage facility pending further directions.
The development adds a new and volatile dimension to Manipur's ongoing ethnic crisis, which has largely been defined by the conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities since violence first erupted in the state in 2023.
