Armed attackers target four Naga villages in Manipur, pastor critically wounded

Four Liangmai Naga villages along the Imphal-Tamenglong Road in Manipur's Kangpokpi district came under a coordinated armed attack on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after three Kuki villagers were killed in the same area.

The assault, which continued until early afternoon, left Luithuibou Newmai, the pastor of Tapon village, critically injured after being shot. Several houses in the affected villages were also set ablaze.

The Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), the apex body of the Tangkhul Naga community, has accused the Kuki National Front-Presidential (KNF-P) and the Kuki National Army (KNA) of carrying out the attacks. The TNL further claimed that the operation was led by Jangboi Kipgen, who also serves as home secretary of the United People's Front, an umbrella organisation of Kuki-Zo militant groups.

In a statement, the TNL noted that these Kuki groups are signatories to the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with the central government. The organisation alleged that the Liangmai Nagas have faced sustained attacks from Kuki extremists over the past several months.

The TNL asserted that the repeated armed offensives within Kangpokpi district appear designed to alter the demographic composition of the area. It claimed that landless Kuki groups are employing this pattern of violence to establish dominance over what it termed the ancestral land of the Nagas.

The organisation condemned the attacks and criticised the government for its failure to control groups operating under the SoO agreement.

Separately, normal life was disrupted across the five districts of the Imphal Valley on Tuesday as the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation (JFD) enforced a 24-hour general strike. The shutdown proceeded despite the Centre's decision on Monday to defer the Census exercise in the state.

The JFD is demanding that the government prepare the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before conducting the Census. The strike affected business establishments, public transport, and vehicular movement, with protesters blocking roads while allowing essential and emergency services to pass.

The Manipur government had appealed to the JFD to withdraw the shutdown following the Centre's announcement, but the organisation proceeded, insisting that the Registrar General of India should formally notify the deferment through a gazette publication.