Church authorities offer to mediate Kuki-Naga peace in Manipur

Manipur CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh will meet a 10-member team of church leaders representing the Baptist Churches Council of North East India (CBCNEI) and Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC) on May 18, 2026. Image: X/@CMO_MANIPUR_

Two church organizations have offered to broker peace between Kukis and Nagas in ethnic conflict-scarred Manipur amid a “total shutdown” and “economic blockade” affecting normal life across the state.

A 10-member team of church leaders, representing the Baptist Churches in Northeast India (CBCNEI) and the Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC), on Monday (May 18, 2026) called on Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh to discuss the tense situation between the two tribal communities.

Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho also attended the meeting.

According to an official in the chief minister’s office, the church leaders volunteered to facilitate peace between the two communities. They offered to hire two teams for this purpose. While one team will travel to the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district, the other will travel to the Naga-majority Senapati district, which borders Nagaland.

More than 40 Nagas and Kukis were held hostage after unidentified gunmen ambushed and killed three church leaders, who belonged to the Thadou community, at Zero Point between Kotlen and Kotzim villages in Kangpokpi District on May 13. A section of the Thadous resent being clubbed as Kuki, a set of tribes that many non-Kukinouises perceive as tribes.

“The role being played by church leaders in trying to defuse the situation arising out of the hostage crisis is commendable,” the chief minister said, encouraging CBCNEI and MBC to convince leaders of both communities.

“The hostages on both sides need to be released urgently for humanitarian reasons. In addition to talking to the Kuki community and church leaders, our team will travel to Kangpokpi to meet the family members of the three slain church leaders,” a CBCNEI spokesperson said.

The church team will then travel to Senapati to meet Naga church leaders and key members of civil society organizations to discuss the prevailing tense situation and the hostage crisis.

On May 15, various Kuki and Naga groups released 28 hostages – 14 from both communities. Families and organizations of both communities are demanding the release of the remaining captives so that peace can be restored.

TWO CHURCH TEAMS TO VISIT KANGPOKPI AND SENAPATI

Imphal, May 18: The Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri @YKhemchandSingh praised the role played by church leaders in trying to defuse the current crisis arising from the hostage-taking incident as a result of… pic.twitter.com/OQkZ6Ya96A

— CMO MANIPUR (@CMO_MANIPUR_) May 18, 2026

Appeal of truckers

Hundreds of goods-laden and empty trucks have been stranded on highways in the state’s Imphal Valley and Senapati district since the Kuki organization imposed a “total shutdown” on May 13. The situation escalated after Naga organizations imposed an “economic blockade” on Naga-inhabited areas on Sunday night.

National Highway 2, Manipur’s lifeline, winds through Senapati and Kangpokpi districts, connecting Imphal to the rest of the country.

“We have been stranded for the last five days and are facing acute shortage of food and drinking water. Some people have helped us with rice and dal but it is not enough,” said a group of stranded commercial vehicle drivers and appealed to the Manipur government to ensure their safe passage.

Drivers also sought a security escort to reach their destinations.

Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kukis, has called for a complete shutdown to protest the killing of church leaders and the government’s failure to rescue 14 members of their community from their captors, allegedly in Naga areas.

The United Naga Council, the apex body of the Nagas of Manipur, has retaliated with an economic blockade to pressure the government to release six Naga civilians, including two pastors, allegedly held hostage by Kuki extremists.

A spokesman for the Manipur government said security forces were continuing to search for the missing persons. He said combing operations were carried out in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts.

Published – 18 May 2026 22:04 IST