Two Kuki-Zo women shot dead in Manipur's Tamenglong; KZC condemns attacks

Two Kuki-Zo women were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in a remote Kuki settlement in Manipur's Tamenglong district on Tuesday afternoon, heightening tensions in an area already strained by the state's wider ethnic conflict.

The attack took place around 3 pm at Leijangphai, near Muktokhal. The deceased have been identified as Phalneichong (Chonga) Sitlhou, 76, wife of the late Seidou Sitlhou, and Kimjalhing (Kimboi) Singson, 30, daughter of Paosei Singson.

Both women were carrying out routine work on their farm when they were ambushed, according to local accounts. Singson had recently returned home after completing a nursing course to help her parents with farming.

Locals told officials that a number of kutcha farmhouses were also set on fire during the attack, and that several villagers could not be traced afterwards.

Tuesday's killings come just two days after four people, including two women, were killed and several others injured in two separate attacks on the Kuki settlements of Longpi and Tollen, also in Tamenglong district. The Jiribam-Tamenglong region has now recorded three attacks this week.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) condemned the latest violence, describing it as part of an alarming pattern. The continued targeting of civilians, it said, raises concerns about attempts to terrorise and drive Kuki-Zo communities from their settlements. The Council urged the Manipur government and the Centre to protect vulnerable communities, bring the perpetrators to justice, and act firmly and lawfully against armed groups attacking civilians.

The Council also issued a directive asking Kuki-Zo civil society organisations not to bury victims killed by what it described as a rival Naga group until further notice. Under the directive, the mortal remains of such victims are to be preserved in the nearest available cold-storage facility pending further directions from the KZC.

After Sunday's attacks, the Naga Village Authority of the neighbouring Kaimai settlement described the perpetrators as an unidentified group and voiced concern that the violence could sow suspicion and division between communities in the region. It called for restraint and urged community leaders and civil society organisations to reaffirm peace and understanding.

Leijangphai itself has been contested over jurisdiction by Jiribam and Tamenglong. The ethnic conflict that broke out in Manipur in May 2023 has claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands homeless.