Help end ‘proxy war’ of armed Kuki groups, Manipur Naga body urges PM
United Naga Council (UNC) Chairman KS Paul Leo, center, displays photographs while addressing a press conference on the situation in Manipur at the Press Club of India in New Delhi on Saturday, June 27, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI
The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the 21 Naga tribes in Manipur, has asked the Center and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate intervention in the “rapidly deteriorating situation” in the northeastern state, especially in the Naga areas.
UNC leaders told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday (June 27, 2026) that the organisation, along with the Naga Women’s Union and the All Naga Students Association, Manipur, had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister seeking action against the Kuki armed groups’ “herd war” against the Nagas.
The press conference was attended by Naga representatives, Ng Lorho, Vareiyo Shatsang, Samson Remei, AC Thotso, KS Paul Leo and L. Adani.
They said the memorandum called for action against Kuki extremist groups, which had signed ceasefire agreements with the Center in 2008, for waging a proxy war against the Nagas. They insisted that the war was a violation of the August 2015 Framework Agreement (signed between the Center and the Nagalim National Socialist Council) and a serious threat to India’s border security.
The UNC was specific to the Kuki National Front-Presidential armed faction and named the Kuki National Army (Burma) as the perpetual aggressor in the Naga-inhabited areas along the Indo-Myanmar border.
The UNC said its delegation met political leaders, civil society groups, women’s organisations, peace workers and concerned citizens in Delhi to confront the position of the Manipur Naga people and seek immediate constitutional and political intervention.
They said the Nagas have been drawn into a recent cycle of conflict in the state, which is yet to recover from the Kuki-Meitei conflict that erupted in May 2023. “The threat to the Nagas and their land reflected a deeper conspiracy against the Naga people and their commitment to peace,” the UNC said in a statement, highlighting the erosion of public confidence in the Manpuri state’s ability to protect life and the Union government.
Investigate brutal murders
The UNC also said that the Nagas expected six members of their community to be released by their Kuki captors after the UNC and the Naga People’s Organization on June 9 allowed the release of 14 Kuki hostages.
The hostage crisis was triggered by the killing of three church leaders by Thada on 13 May. The Kukis and Nagas each released 14 hostages two days later, but the crisis was far from over.
The UNC said the Nagas expected the humane act of releasing the remaining 14 Kuki hostages despite strong public anger to be reciprocated. “Instead, on June 10, the six Naga civilians who remained in captivity were found as lifeless, mutilated and dismembered human remains,” it said, demanding a time-bound, independent and court-monitored investigation into the abduction and brutal killing of the six Naga civilians.
The Naga apex body also demanded concrete security guarantees for all Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur, especially vulnerable areas where civilians faced intimidation, hostage-taking and armed movement.
The UNC said large parts of what is now the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district are the ancestral lands of the Zeliangrong Naga. “Any violence, militarized enforcement or demographic intimidation in these areas must be treated as a serious matter for the security and territorial protection of Naga,” he added.
Zeliangrong includes three Naga communities – Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei. The six Naga civilians killed belonged to the Liangmai community.
Published – 27 Jun 2026 22:11 IST