At least nine people have reportedly been killed and around 14 houses set on fire in fresh violence in Manipur, deepening tensions between predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo and Naga tribal communities after more than three years of deadly ethnic conflict.
The latest unrest followed the shooting of Pi Domkhonei Touthang, a 42-year-old Kuki woman and mother of five, on the night of 9 October in Kamjong district. Local media reports said she was caught in crossfire during an operation involving state police, the Indian Reserve Battalion and the Border Security Force to dismantle illegal bunkers near Chassad police station.
The Kuki-Zo Women’s Forum condemned Touthang’s death in a statement issued on 9 October. It alleged that armed Naga groups and security personnel were responsible for killing her while she was accompanying unarmed women from Chassad who were trying to defend their village.
The forum named armed Tangkhul Naga groups, the Indian Reserve Battalion and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) in its allegations. It called for an impartial investigation to establish what happened and ensure accountability.
Further violence broke out the following day, when 23-year-old Kuki man Michael Ngamminlen Haokip was reportedly killed in an exchange of fire. Around 14 homes belonging to members of the Kuki and Naga communities were also destroyed by arson.
Separate clashes were reported in Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts on the same day, where seven people were reportedly killed, according to media reports. The dead included a man of Nepalese origin and six members of the Naga community.
The United Naga Council, the main representative body of the Nagas, issued a statement on 11 October condemning what it described as coordinated and premeditated attacks on Naga villages and the killing of Naga civilians by armed Kuki militants.
The council warned that the violence in Naga ancestral areas posed a serious threat to peace and accused the state government of failing to protect residents. It also questioned whether the presence of security forces was helping maintain peace or contributing to further violence, calling for their withdrawal if they could not protect both Naga and Kuki villages.
A Kuki Church leader, who asked not to be identified, told UCA News on 12 October that the situation remained extremely fragile. The leader said Kuki residents feared they could be targeted in further attacks.
The latest deaths come amid a series of attacks and retaliatory violence involving the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo and Naga tribal communities. According to the report, the current round of clashes began after two Naga men were killed on 18 April. At least 40 people have reportedly died on both sides, while villages belonging to both communities have been burned and vandalised.
Manipur has been affected by large-scale ethnic violence since May 2023, when opposition from the tribal Kuki-Zo community to a proposal to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Hindu-majority Meitei community contributed to escalating tensions.
The wider conflict has killed at least 260 people, injured thousands and displaced more than 60,000, according to the figures cited in the report. Around 360 churches and other Church-run institutions, including schools, as well as more than 11,000 homes, have also been destroyed.
Some Church leaders have alleged that Meitei groups orchestrated violence between the Kuki-Zo and Naga communities to divert attention from the broader conflict. These allegations remain claims attributed to those leaders.
Indigenous Christians account for about 41 per cent of Manipur’s population of 3.2 million, while the Meitei community makes up approximately 53 per cent and holds significant influence in the state government and administration.
The latest violence has renewed fears among residents that further attacks could deepen divisions and put more lives and homes at risk.
Based on reporting by UCA News.
