Around 20 houses were torched on Thursday. The Kuki Inpi Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney condemned Thursday’s early morning arson attack at Leikot Kuki village in Noney district, allegedly carried out by the rebel group NSCN-IM.
Rahul Gandhi stated in X on Thursday, “Manipur has been burning for years, and today again, 20 homes have been reduced to ashes in the fire of hatred and violence. Even with two governments and the President’s rule, the conflict is only deepening. Thousands have lost their lives; countless families have been shattered—the unbearable agony Manipur is enduring is hard even to imagine. This is the result of the Modi government’s divisive ideology, which divides people in the name of religion, caste, language, region, and identity. Today, not just Manipur but the entire country has given up hope of even two words of empathy from the Prime Minister, let alone any action. Manipur deserves better—and for that, uniting India is the only way forward.”
On Wednesday several houses in at least two tribal villages in Manipur’s Kamjong district near the India-Myanmar border were torched. A senior police officer said, “Phaimol, a Kuki village, and Kongkan Thana and Shangkalok, two Tangkhul Naga villages, were among the settlements affected by the latest incidents of arson.”
There has been tension in the Kuki and Naga dominated areas since May this year following the hostage crisis. At least 50 people from the Kuki and Naga communities were held hostage by different armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts following the violent incidents of May 13, during which three church leaders were killed and four others injured in Kangpokpi district.
Around 30 individuals from both communities were released on May 14 and May 15 following sustained efforts by the authorities, community leaders, and several civil society organisations.
On June 10, the remaining 14 Kuki villagers were released and handed over to the police at a police station in Senapati district by the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO).The following day (June 11), the bodies of six Naga hostages were recovered from a forested area near Kharam Vaiphei village, a predominantly Kuki-Zo tribal settlement under the Saitu-Gamphazol Sub-Division of Kangpokpi district.
