Five Kukis Killed in Fresh Ethnic Violence in Manipur as Protests Rock Imphal

At least five people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur, India's northeastern state. The deaths occurred in two separate incidents, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing the Manipur state police.

In a statement, the police said three members of the Kuki community were killed on Saturday in a gunfight between 'unidentified armed miscreants' in the state's Noney district.

The bodies of two more members of the same community, who had gone missing earlier this week, were recovered on Sunday morning from Kangpokpi district. Police said the bodies were found during a search operation by security forces.

A leading Manipur organisation working on the human rights of the Kuki people blamed Naga separatist groups for the killings. It said terrorists had attacked Kukis directly and without provocation on their ancestral land.

The killings came at a time when thousands of people are protesting in the capital Imphal and other parts of the state, demanding the cancellation of the ceasefire agreement signed between India's central government and Kuki armed groups.

In Manipur, there is a long history of conflict between the majority-Christian Kukis and Naga tribes over claims to ethnic homelands.

The latest violence began in February this year after a Naga man was assaulted by several members of the Kuki community. Last May, three Kuki pastors were then killed by Naga armed groups. After those killings, the two sides engaged in tit-for-tat kidnappings and murders.

This recent Kuki-Naga conflict has further increased Manipur's existing tensions. Since May 2023, the Kuki community has also been locked in a bloody ethnic conflict with the Hindu Meitei community over government benefits and job quotas.

That long-running conflict has so far claimed more than 300 lives. More than 60,000 displaced people are still living in temporary relief camps.