Two Kuki women killed in suspected Naga militant attack in Manipur
Imphal: In fresh violence in Manipur, two women belonging to the Kuki community were killed allegedly by cadres of a Naga armed group at Leisangphai in Jiribam district on Tuesday, officials said.
Police said the women were gathering firewood on their farm when the armed cadres allegedly opened fire on them, killing both on the spot.
The victims were identified as Chonga Sitlhou, 60, and Ng. Kimneo Singson, 28.
Singson had recently completed her nursing course and returned home to assist her parents with farming, according to local sources.
Kuki community organisations blamed the NSCN-IM and ZUF-K for the incident, saying it came amid a series of attacks and killings involving Kuki civilians in Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney districts.
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), an apex body of the community, in view of what it described as continuing and unabated violence against Kuki-Zo civilians allegedly perpetrated by Naga armed groups operating in Manipur, issued a notification to all civil society organisations (CSOs) across community-inhabited districts directing that no Kuki-Zo person killed by Naga armed groups in Manipur shall be buried until further notice.
“The mortal remains of every such victim shall instead be preserved in the nearest available cold-storage facility until further directions are issued by the Kuki-Zo Council,” it said.
“This decision is a deliberate and collective measure of protest and resistance against the continuing killing of Kuki-Zo civilians and the failure to ensure justice and accountability for these attacks,” it said, adding that it could not allow the deaths of people to be reduced to isolated incidents and forgotten after burial while those responsible continued to operate with impunity.
Another leading tribal organisation, the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), strongly condemned what it described as an unprovoked attack and killing of innocent Kuki villagers by the “NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson)”.
Over the past three days, including Tuesday, six innocent Kuki villagers have reportedly been killed, the KIM said in a statement.
“Where are the Central and state Governments? How much longer will the authorities remain silent in the face of repeated attacks on innocent Kuki-Zo civilians? The government cannot continue to feign ignorance of what is being perpetrated against the Kuki-Zo people,” it said.
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 genuinely desire peace and peaceful coexistence between the two communities, the KIM said. The statement said the Kuki Inpi Manipur did not wish to see the actions of armed groups like the NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson) further damage relations between the Kuki and Naga peoples. However, the continued targeting of innocent civilians and the alleged failure of the authorities to protect them were pushing the situation towards an extremely dangerous point, it said.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur urged 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 the killings to justice.
It has also 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.