Kanggui: Five different civil society organizations have issued five separate press releases vehemently condemning in strongest terms the pre-planned, brutal and cowardly armed attack carried out at L. Tollen Village under Tousem Sub-Division, Tamenglong District, Manipur in the early morning at around 4:00 AM on 13th September 2026, which tragically coincided with Kuki Black Day Sahnit-Ni, the day Kuki people observe to remember victims of 1990s violence including Joupi 1993.
According to information mentioned in separate press releases issued by L. Tollen Village Authority and Kuki Inpi, armed cadres allegedly belonging to NSCN-IM and ZUF-K factions entered the peaceful and sleeping Kuki village with sophisticated assault rifles and fired indiscriminately inside a civilian house, killing innocent mother Mrs. Lhingzangai Singsit, wife of Mr. Seineh Singsit and mother of five children, on the spot inside her own home where she was sleeping with her family.
Her husband Mr. Seineh Singsit, a hardworking cultivator known in the village as a humble and peace-loving man who reportedly tried to shield his wife and children from bullets, sustained critical bullet injuries to his body and was immediately evacuated with help of villagers for treatment, but has now tragically succumbed to his injuries in hospital, leaving behind their five children completely orphaned and the entire village community in deep shock, mourning and fear.
Their youngest son Mr. Henmisnang also sustained serious bullet injuries from assault rifles fired during the attack and is currently stated to be in critical condition under medical care, while their two other sons who were also present inside the house during the indiscriminate firing narrowly escaped unharmed by hiding, but remain deeply traumatized after witnessing brutal killing of their parents.
In a separate press release issued independently, L. Tollen Village Authority under Chief Lamkholun Haokip stated that this is not an isolated incident but a systematic, deliberate and long-planned attempt to terrorize, uproot, intimidate and ethnically cleanse Kuki villagers from their ancestral lands in order to forcibly fulfill the Greater Nagalim agenda, terming the act as blatant terrorism, grave human rights violation and crime against humanity.
In its separate release, the Village Authority separately and independently demanded immediate deployment of adequate Central Security Forces including Assam Rifles and CRPF in L. Tollen and surrounding Kuki villages, immediate registration of FIR by Manipur Police with independent, transparent and time-bound investigation, immediate arrest of perpetrators, and best possible medical treatment and ex-gratia for the injured son and orphaned children.
In a separate press release bearing Ref No. 138/KITN/PR/2024-26 issued separately, Kuki Inpi Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney JTN, the apex body of Kuki tribes in the zone, strongly condemned the barbaric and inhumane attack allegedly carried out by suspected Naga militants and said the incident occurred only a few hundred metres from security forces stationed in the area, raising serious concerns about security accountability and intelligence failure despite proximity of forces.
In its separate press statement, Kuki Inpi JTN separately submitted four specific demands including immediate justice for victims, transfer of case to National Investigation Agency NIA for impartial and independent probe free from state bias, permanent deployment of Central security at Tollen village, and warned that until justice is delivered Kuki people will not remain silent nor accept mortal remains for funeral rites.
It further, in its separate release, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Government of Manipur and Government of India to initiate concrete action on ground and announced with immediate effect a 24-hour economic blockade as mark of protest and resentment, warning that failure to fulfill demands within stipulated period will lead to indefinite total shutdown in Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney districts.
In a separate press release bearing Ref No. KNDF/GHQ/PR/2026-09-02 issued separately from its General Headquarters Kukiland, the Kuki National Defense Force KNDF expressed deepest grief, anguish and strongest condemnation over the brutal attack in which a Kuki woman was killed on spot and husband and children were shot inside their house, saying mother taken, children wounded, husband left fighting for life, now dead.
In its separate statement, KNDF separately said what makes tragedy even more painful and unbearable is that it happened on Kuki Black Day Sahnit Ni, a solemn day when Kuki people across the world remember thousands of innocent lives lost during 1990s Naga-Kuki violence, and more than three decades later innocent civilians are again attacked and killed on very day dedicated to remembering those who came before.
The KNDF, in its separate release, further noted that if reports of involvement by Tangkhul militants and NSCN-IM cadres are proven true after investigation, perpetrators must answer and be held accountable under law, and asserted that political grievances must be faced openly, disputes settled through legitimate democratic process, and ordinary families, women and children must never be turned into soft targets or made to pay price for political agenda.
In a separate press release issued separately, Kuki Chiefs Association KCA of Tamenglong and Jiri Zone said as per accurate and verified information received from ground, armed cadres of NSCN-IM launched the attack using sophisticated assault rifles resulting in death of Mrs. Lhingzangai Singsit and now Mr. Seineh Singsit, calling it not merely affront to individual lives but direct intimidation and grave assault upon entire Kuki community living in Tamenglong.
In its separate statement, KCA separately stated that no political objective, territorial claim, ideological conviction or organizational interest can ever provide moral, legal or humanitarian justification for deliberate endangerment and killing of innocent civilian lives, and demanded impartial, prompt and thorough investigation by central agencies, warning that incompetent and delayed justice will only escalate communal conflict, bloodshed and distrust.
In a separate condemnation letter dated 13-09-2026 issued separately and independently, Kaimai Naga Village Authority stated that it strongly condemns the attack carried out by unidentified armed group in its area, terming it deliberate, malicious and well-planned attempt to create disharmony, suspicion, hatred and division between different communities that have long lived together peacefully as good neighbours in region.
In its separate letter, the Authority separately appealed to concerned district administration and police authorities to conduct thorough, impartial and transparent investigation to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice at earliest, appealed both communities to exercise restraint, patience and maturity without allowing rumors and fake news to escalate tensions, and urged all community leaders to reaffirm bonds of peace, brotherhood and understanding.
Although these are five separate releases from five different bodies issued at different times and places, in their separate statements all have separately appealed to Central Government, National Human Rights Commission NHRC, Government of Manipur and concerned security agencies to intervene immediately, provide security, stop violence and protect innocent villagers before more innocent lives are lost, asserting they will not be cowed down and will defend land and rights.
In conclusion of their separate PRs, the five bodies in their separate and independent statements have separately and commonly called that civilian lives are not bargaining tools, women and children are not legitimate targets for any armed group, violence against innocent families must never be treated as normal part of ethnic conflict, demanding justice, accountability, protection and lasting peace through rule of law and constitutional means.
Meanwhile, according to separate ground updates received, survivors from Tollen including women and children have reportedly fled to nearby forests and neighbouring Kuki villages fearing further attacks and retaliation, while injured child remains under critical care in hospital, as Kuki villages across Tamenglong, Noney and Jiribam observed Black Day with candlelight vigils remembering Joupi 1993 massacre and now Tollen 2026 double murder, demanding Government stop protecting killers and immediately arrest culprits.
