Three more people have been killed and two injured in renewed violence among indigenous communities in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur, as a separate shutdown by Kuki groups continues over the deaths of two Kuki men.
The latest killings involved Naga men and were reported on 4 November in Noney district. The deaths followed an exchange of gunfire between suspected members of two rival Naga armed groups: the Jenchui faction of the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF-J) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah).
Villagers recovered the bodies of the three victims, identified as M Thaimei, G Kamson and Aihung Khumba, according to media reports.
The gunfight took place before dawn, prompting security forces to launch intensified search operations. More than 500 state and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the area.
A church leader, who asked not to be named, expressed concern over the growing violence among indigenous Christian communities.
“We do not know where we will end up with this kind of brutal killings among us [tribal Christians],” the leader told UCA News on 5 November.
He noted that the latest clashes involved rival Naga groups, rather than the confrontations between Naga and Kuki communities that have marked previous incidents. Both Nagas and Kukis are indigenous communities with predominantly Christian populations.
“Christians are now facing their biggest challenge from within,” he said, referring to the wider ethnic conflict between the predominantly Hindu Meitei community and the indigenous Kuki-Zo population, most of whom are Christians.
The conflict began in May 2023 and has left more than 260 people dead and displaced around 60,000, many of them indigenous Christians.
Violence between Kuki and Naga groups escalated after two Naga men were killed in an ambush on 18 April, leading to further attacks and retaliatory incidents.
The church leader said the clashes between the two communities had since claimed 72 lives. He appealed to leaders from both sides to end the violence and begin dialogue.
“We want peace and appeal to leaders from both the communities to end violence and begin dialogue,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), which represents Kuki-Zo communities, extended a total shutdown in protest over the killing of two Kuki men who had been abducted. Their mutilated bodies were recovered on 31 October.
Kuki groups have accused Naga militant organisations of abducting and killing the two men, but Naga organisations have denied the allegations.
The shutdown in Kuki-dominated hill areas is due to continue until 6 November. CoTU warned that it would intensify its protest if the government failed to deliver justice within the extended period.
Manipur has experienced prolonged unrest since 3 May 2023, when a protest against a court-backed proposal to grant the politically and economically influential Meitei community official tribal status turned violent.
Church leaders have expressed concern that violence between indigenous Christian communities could weaken their unity. Some have alleged that Meitei groups may be encouraging divisions among them to divert attention from abuses against tribal Christians, including reported cases of rape and murder. These allegations remain claims made by church leaders.
Based on reporting by UCA News.
