Community buries Haogin Lhouvum amid rain and grief while militants strike again near Lasan-Langka border, prompting Kuki CSOs to extend shutdown and launch economic blockade over security failures.
By Kimbawinu Vaiphei, Kukiland Express Desk
Songpi, June 13, 2026: Grief turned to fresh outrage in Kangpokpi on Saturday as hundreds gathered at the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Phaijang to bury Haogin Lhouvum, the farmer killed in the June 9 Lasan attack. The solemn service unfolded under heavy rain, even as gunfire erupted again in the same conflict belt, claiming the life of another Kuki village volunteer.
Lhouvum’s burial, led by Rev. Thangsat Kipgen under the aegis of the Committee on Tribal Unity, drew leaders from Kuki Inpi Manipur, SAHILCA, and several civil society bodies. Mourners who kept an overnight vigil described the atmosphere as one of exhaustion and anger, with many saying the community was being forced to bury its dead while still under attack.
At around 8:40 am, armed assailants opened fire near the border between Lasan Kuki Village in Tamenglong district and Langka Liangmei Naga Village in Kangpokpi district. Local sources said the attackers targeted a post manned by Kuki village volunteers who had been guarding paddy fields after the June 9 killing. One volunteer died on the spot. Two others sustained bullet injuries and were evacuated to a private hospital in Kangpokpi town.
Eyewitnesses from Lasan said the firing lasted nearly 20 minutes and came from the direction of the adjoining hills. Volunteers returned fire, but the assailants retreated into the forested terrain before security forces reached the area. The identity of the slain volunteer was being withheld pending notification of next of kin as of press time.
The fresh attack occurred barely 4 km from the site where Lhouvum and other farmers were ambushed on June 9 while working in their fields. That incident had already triggered a district-wide total shutdown called by Kuki CSOs Kangpokpi. Community leaders say today’s killing proves that vulnerable villages remain exposed despite repeated pleas for permanent security posts.
Though Kuki CSOs had resolved to lift the shutdown after Lhouvum’s burial, an emergency meeting called after the morning attack reversed the decision. The shutdown will now continue indefinitely until the slain volunteer is buried. Simultaneously, the CSOs announced an economic blockade across Kangpokpi, halting movement of commercial goods along key routes.
Speaking at the funeral, Kuki CSOs Kangpokpi spokesperson Janghaolun Haokip accused the government of “criminal neglect” for failing to deploy adequate forces in the Lasan-Langka belt. “Our people are being killed while farming, while mourning, while defending their homes. The government has heard our appeals for two years and done nothing,” Haokip said.
Haokip said the community was “compelled” to raise village volunteers because state forces had not secured vulnerable settlements. He warned that any action against the volunteers by government agencies would be opposed, arguing that they exist only because the administration failed to protect lives and property. “You cannot disarm us while leaving us to be killed,” he said.
The indefinite economic blockade, Haokip added, will remain until the Centre and state government guarantee concrete security measures for Kuki villages along the Tamenglong-Kangpokpi border. He reiterated the demand for an expedited political solution for the Kuki people, stating that “buffer zones without justice are just waiting grounds for the next attack.”
Saturday’s funeral closed with prayers and a gun salute by volunteers, but the mood was far from resolved. With two killings in five days at Lasan and a blockade now in effect, tensions in Kangpokpi remain high. Civil society groups have urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene directly, warning that the cycle of violence shows no sign of abating without a decisive security and political response.
