The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body representing the Kuki tribes, has alleged that Teikhang and Lenglong villages in Manipur’s Noney district were attacked on Wednesday afternoon, accusing Tangkhul-led factions of the NSCN (IM) and ZUF-K of carrying out arson and destruction. The organisation has appealed to the Central Government for immediate intervention and renewed its demand for a separate Union Territory with Legislature for the Kuki-Zo community.
In a statement issued by Information and Publicity Secretary Kaybie Chongloi, KIM claimed the attack took place at around 2 pm and described it as a serious escalation of the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state.
The organisation alleged that the assault was part of a wider campaign to displace Kuki-Zo communities and further the agenda of “Greater Nagalim” through violent land occupation and demographic changes in areas inhabited by the Kuki-Zo people.
KIM further claimed that the alleged destruction of the two villages reflected the state’s inability to safeguard its citizens, asserting that repeated attacks on Kuki-Zo frontier villages had exposed major security shortcomings and intensified the internal security situation in Manipur.
In its statement, the organisation alleged that the government’s continued failure to protect vulnerable frontier villages from armed attacks had evolved into a grave internal security crisis.
Reiterating its long-standing political demand, KIM maintained that the recurring violence had reinforced its position that the Kuki-Zo community could no longer safely coexist under the present administrative structure in Manipur. It once again sought the creation of a Separate Administration in the form of a Union Territory with Legislature under the Constitution, describing it as essential for ensuring the security, dignity and long-term future of the Kuki-Zo people.
The organisation also urged the Central Government to launch an immediate counter-terrorism operation against the NSCN (IM) and its alleged proxy groups, acknowledge what it described as the failure of the existing administrative arrangement, and expedite the constitutional process for establishing a Union Territory with Legislature for the Kuki-Zo community.
