Songpi: Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes, has strongly condemned the unprovoked and brutal attack and killing of innocent Kuki villagers by armed cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson in Tamenglong and adjoining districts. In a press statement issued from Kim Secretariat on 15th September 2026, the apex body said that over the past three days, including Monday, six innocent Kuki villagers have been killed in cold blood in a series of targeted attacks. The organization termed the killings as a direct attack on unarmed civilians and an attempt to create fear among Kuki farmers living in remote border villages. It demanded immediate intervention from both central and state governments.
According to Kuki Inpi Manipur, the latest incident took place on 15th September at around 3 pm at Muktokhal village, also known as Leisangphai village, located on the tri-junction of Tamenglong and Jiribam districts. Two women residents of the village, Mrs. Chonga Sitlhou and Miss Kimboi Singson, who had gone to their jhum fields for routine farming work, were reportedly waylaid and shot dead in their own fields by NSCN-IM cadres and its cohorts. The statement said the women were unarmed and were engaged in ordinary livelihood activities when they were attacked without any provocation. After killing them, the attackers also reportedly torched their farmhouses, granaries and field huts, destroying the rice harvest and farming tools of the families.
The apex body provided details of the victims to highlight the cruelty of the attack. Mrs. Chonga Sitlhou, aged 60, wife of late Seidou Sitlhou, was a grandmother who was collecting firewood for her hearth when she was shot dead from close range. Miss Kimboi Singson, aged 30, daughter of Paosei Singson, was an educated Kuki youth who had recently completed her General Nursing and Midwifery course. She had returned to her village for a few months to help her aging parents in farming before applying for a nursing job in a hospital. Her dream was to serve as a nurse, but she was killed in her own farm. Kuki Inpi said that apart from these two women, several other Kuki farmers who had gone to their fields on Monday morning have not returned and are still missing in the forests, raising fear that the death toll may increase further.
Expressing its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, Kuki Inpi Manipur strongly condemned these brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians. The organization said that targeting women farmers, burning their homes and destroying their granaries is a crime against humanity and violates the right to life guaranteed under the Constitution of India. It said that Kuki villagers living in border areas like Leisangphai, Tollen, Longpi, and adjoining villages in Tamenglong, Noney, Jiribam, Ukhrul, Kamjong and Kangpokpi districts have been repeatedly targeted this year. In 2026 alone, more than twenty five Kuki civilians have been killed by NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson in similar attacks while going to fields or collecting firewood, following the same pattern of ambush, killing and arson to force Kuki people to abandon their ancestral lands.
Raising serious questions on the role of the government, Kuki Inpi Manipur asked where the central and state governments are when innocent Kuki civilians are being killed daily. The statement questioned, how much longer will the authorities remain silent in the face of repeated attacks on innocent Kuki civilians, and said that the government cannot continue to feign ignorance of what is being perpetrated against the Kuki people. It pointed out that Government of India has had a ceasefire with NSCN-IM since 1997 and Suspension of Operation agreement with ZUF, but in the name of ceasefire these armed groups are allowed to move freely with sophisticated automatic weapons, maintain camps, collect illegal taxes and threaten and kill Kuki farmers, while no arrest is ever made and ceasefire ground rules are never enforced against them.
The apex body also clarified that the Kuki people have exercised considerable restraint despite repeated provocations and the loss of innocent lives, particularly in recognition of the many Nagas who do not support violence and who genuinely desire peace and peaceful coexistence between the two communities. Kuki Inpi Manipur stated that it does not wish to see the actions of armed groups like NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson further damage the relationship between the Kuki and Naga peoples, who have lived as neighbours for centuries. However, it warned that the continued targeting of innocent civilians and the apparent failure of the authorities to protect them are pushing the situation towards an extremely dangerous point where public confidence in the rule of law will collapse completely.
In view of the deteriorating situation, Kuki Inpi Manipur called upon the central and state governments to act immediately and decisively to stop further attacks, protect innocent civilians, ensure the safety and security of vulnerable villages, and bring those responsible for these killings to justice. It demanded immediate deployment of neutral central forces like BSF and CRPF in all vulnerable Kuki villages in Tamenglong, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Noney, Kangpokpi and Jiribam districts, especially in Leisangphai, Tollen and Longpi, and daily armed escort for Kuki farmers going to their fields. It also demanded a time-bound investigation by NIA and CBI into the killings and arrest of the masterminds.
The organization further warned that the government must understand that continued inaction will have serious consequences. It said that immediate and credible intervention is essential to prevent further loss of innocent lives, restore public confidence, and avert a much wider escalation of conflict in the hill areas. Recalling that 13th September is observed by every Kuki household as Black Day to mourn the killing of more than 1,100 Kuki civilians by NSCN-IM during 1992 to 1997, Kuki Inpi said that justice for those 1,100 deaths has never been delivered, and now history is repeating itself with the same pattern of killing unarmed Kuki farmers and burning their villages. It said that without justice, peace cannot be restored.
In a significant and painful decision, Kuki Inpi Manipur has decided that, however difficult and painful it may be for the bereaved families, the mortal remains of the two deceased women shall not be claimed until justice is attained. The apex body said that this decision has been taken to draw the attention of the nation and the international community to the systematic killing of Kuki civilians under the protection of ceasefire. The families, despite their grief, have agreed to this decision in the hope that their sacrifice will prevent further killings and that the government will finally act against NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson and ban them as terrorist organisations under UAPA.
The press statement was signed by D. David Haokip, Assistant Information Secretary, Kuki Inpi Manipur, from the Administrative Centre at Lamka. Kuki Inpi Manipur reiterated that the Kuki people are a small indigenous Christian community, mostly farmers, 99 percent Christian, peace loving by nature, whose only crime is that they live on their ancestral land. It said that while Kuki people have faced ethnic cleansing in the valley since May 2023 where more than 250 Kuki were killed, more than 360 villages burnt, more than 7000 houses burnt, more than 200 churches burnt and more than 41000 displaced, they are now facing a second persecution in the hills. It appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Government of India and all peace loving citizens to hear the cry of Kuki mothers who can no longer send their daughters to collect firewood safely.
