Armed assailants shot dead three Kuki villagers, including a woman, and burned down seven houses in Loibol Khullen village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district in the early hours of Friday, June 5, prompting a wave of condemnations from state government officials and multiple Kuki civil society organisations, who have accused the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) and the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front of carrying out the attack.
The assault took place at approximately 4 AM in the village, which falls under the New Keithelmanbi area of the Saitu-Gamphazol subdivision. According to police, the assailants entered residential houses and opened fire on villagers while they were asleep.
The three victims were identified as Letkhongam Haokip, 34, son of Manglung Haokip; his wife Tinmary Haokip, 25; and Jangminlal Haokip, 30, son of Seikhohao Haokip. All three died of bullet injuries. In addition to the seven houses, a Gypsy vehicle and a Mahindra Bolero pick-up truck were also damaged. Security forces were deployed to the area following the incident, and police said investigations are under way.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh condemned the attack as “brutal” and “cowardly”. “The deliberate targeting of unarmed civilians is completely unacceptable, and the government will not spare those responsible for this barbaric act,” he said, directing state police and central security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators at the earliest and instructing authorities to enhance security in affected areas and provide relief to affected families.
Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, herself from the Kuki community, described the killings as a heartbreaking tragedy. “I am deeply saddened and anguished by the tragic loss of three innocent lives, including a woman, in the unfortunate incident that occurred at Loibol village under New Keithelmanbi in Kangpokpi district,” she said, conveying condolences to the bereaved families and assuring that the government remained committed to upholding the rule of law. Saitu MLA Haokholet Kipgen also condemned the attack and called for immediate action against those responsible.
Kimneo Hangshing, MLA for the 46 Saikul Assembly Constituency, issued a formal condemnation, identifying Letkhongam Haokip as Secretary of KBC Gambih No. 7 and Tinmary Haokip as a member of the KBC Gambih No. 7 Women Work Committee. “No cause can ever justify the taking of innocent lives and the destruction of peaceful communities,” he said, urging the government and concerned authorities to take immediate and decisive action.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki community, blamed armed cadres of the NSCN-IM and what it described as its “proxy”, the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front, for carrying out the raid. The Naga groups had not issued any response to the allegation at the time of filing. “This reprehensible act of violence has resulted in the tragic killing of three innocent civilians and the destruction of homes and livelihoods,” KIM said, adding that “the deliberate targeting of civilians and the destruction of homes can never be justified under any circumstances.” The organisation urged the Union government and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation, apprehend the perpetrators, and take urgent measures to safeguard vulnerable villages, also warning that it “shall not be held responsible for any consequences arising from this heinous crime against our people.”
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) linked the attack to a pattern of violence against the community, citing the killing of two young boys at Thawai Kuki Village in Ukhrul district, the May 13 ambush on a Thadou Baptist Association clergy convoy between Kotzim and Kotlen in Kangpokpi that killed three ordained ministers, and the burning of Kharam Vaiphei Village in Kangpokpi. The council appealed directly to Indian security forces for protection and reiterated its demand for a separate administration. “The continued atrocities against the Kuki-Zo people only reaffirm the legitimacy of our demand,” it stated, urging the Government of India to expedite a political solution through dialogue with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi, issued one of the sharpest responses, describing the attack as “a clear and well-orchestrated battle plan at the highest level” designed to provoke the Kuki-Zo community and rekindle the 1990 Kuki-Naga conflict. COTU also connected Friday’s attack to the recent Senapati hostage crisis and accused certain Naga groups of deliberately sabotaging peace efforts. It pressed upon the Government of India to bring the perpetrators to justice within 24 hours, warning that failing this, “the village volunteers of Kuki-Zo will take preemptive strikes in order to defend our land.”
The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) placed Friday’s attack within a series of incidents in 2026, citing arson at K. Songlung village on January 26, violence at Litan Sareikhong in February, the abduction and murder of two Kuki-Zo labourers in Ukhrul on March 13, an April pre-dawn assault on Mulam Kuki village in Ukhrul in which two young volunteers were killed and over a dozen houses destroyed, the clergy convoy ambush of May 13, and arson at Kharam Vaiphei village on May 30. KOHUR also asserted that the 1997 Indo-Naga Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM is territorially limited to Nagaland, and that every NSCN-IM camp in Manipur is therefore illegal, rendering its cadres fully liable under ordinary criminal law.
Collectively, the Kuki civil society organisations demanded an immediate crackdown on all NSCN-IM camps in Manipur’s hill districts, a time-bound National Investigation Agency probe into the Loibol Khullen attack and the chain of 2026 incidents, apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators, permanent deployment of Central Armed Police Forces in vulnerable Kuki-Zo villages, and immediate relief, compensation and rehabilitation for the affected families.
Friday’s attack came less than 24 hours after the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur, began a march from Ukhrul to a village in Kangpokpi district to meet the families of six Naga men who have been missing since shortly after the May 13 clergy killings. Two Kuki organisations had opposed the march, warning that the route passing through Kuki-dominated areas could trigger tension.
Despite repeated assurances from both the Union and state governments that displaced families would be rehabilitated and resettled, thousands of people continue to live in relief camps. Friday’s attack comes nearly three years after the ethnic conflict in Manipur first began, and has further intensified tensions in the state.
