Four Naga Civilians Killed in Sniper Attack on Imphal-Ukhrul Road in Manipur

Four civilians have been killed in an ambush by armed men in the New Heaven area of National Highway 202, which connects Imphal and Ukhrul in India's Manipur. The attack took place on Friday.

All four victims were from the Tangkhul Naga community. They were travelling in two separate vehicles bound for Imphal.

A sniper attack was carried out on the two vehicles in the sensitive New Heaven area before they could reach Litan to join a government security convoy. All four died on the spot from gunshot wounds.

On April 18, two Naga civilians were also killed at exactly the same place. Under administrative instructions, travellers on this route must take the help of a government security cover for a 20-kilometre sensitive stretch from Litan, but this attack happened before the victims could reach Litan.

Police and local sources said two of the victims were residents of Shangkshak village and the other two were from Tashar village. They were Kapangkhui Raihing, his son Hawleila Raihing, August Ngalung and Khanmila Ngalung; the latter two were siblings.

Manipur Police said unidentified armed men carried out the attack. After tension spread in the area, large numbers of local police, BSF, army and Assam Rifles personnel reached the scene and a search operation began to catch the suspects.

Just one day before this attack, a 42-year-old Kuki woman was killed and two people were injured in gunfire while working in a paddy field on the Senapati-Kangpokpi border. A few hours later, a Naga youth was shot in Ukhrul. The Kuki organisation Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) had called a 48-hour shutdown in Kangpokpi in protest at the woman's death, and the new killings happened during that period.

The Indigenous Peoples Forum blamed armed Kukis for the attack and demanded a neutral investigation. The Kuki CSO Working Committee in Ukhrul condemned the attack but denied its community's involvement, demanding a full investigation and equal security for all communities.

Congress parliamentary party leader Keisham Meghachandra criticised the state and central governments over the continuing violence in Manipur. He said five deaths within 24 hours prove the government has completely failed to maintain law and order, and demanded the resignation of the Khemchand-led government for failing to stop violence that has continued for more than three and a half years.

According to the available information, more than 300 people have died in the Meitei-Kuki conflict that has continued since May 2023, and at least 66 people have lost their lives in the Kuki-Naga conflict since February this year.