Militants kill 4 Kuki-Zo civilians in Manipur

The attacks took place in Noney and Tamenglong districts. | Photo credit: ANI

Unidentified gunmen killed four civilians of the Kuki-Zo community, including two women, in two separate incidents in Manipur on Sunday (September 13, 2026).

Although no armed group claimed responsibility, Kuki-Zo organizations blamed the Nagalim National Socialist Council or NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson) for the attacks.

Kuki-Zo organizations said the first attack was carried out around 4am in Tollen village in Tamenglong district. One Seineh Singsit and his wife Lhingzangai were killed and their six-year-old son was injured.

The woman died on the spot, her husband succumbed to his injuries in a nearby hospital. The minor is undergoing treatment for the bullet that reportedly lodged in his body.

The second incident occurred around 3:00 pm in Longpi village in Noney district. Local residents said the gunmen ambushed three people carrying rice and killed two of them on the spot.

The deceased have been identified as Julie Gangte and Thangroel Gangte. A third person, a woman, was reported missing.

Kuki Inpi JTN (Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney Districts) condemned the first attack in a statement: “This inhumane act is not just an attack on one family; it is an affront to humanity itself. Kuki Inpi JTN stands in solidarity with the bereaved family and calls for immediate justice.”

Western Village Volunteer (Jiribam, Tamenglong and Noney), a Kuki-Zo organization, demanded that the killers be identified, caught and brought to justice within 24 hours. She warned that she would be forced to “unleash all her wrath on the perpetrators” if she did not deliver timely justice.

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh expressed deep concern over the killings. He said such cowardly acts of violence against innocent civilians are unacceptable and have no place in society. The Chief Minister expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for strength to the bereaved and speedy recovery of the injured.

Appeal against shutdown

Meanwhile, the Manipur government has appealed to the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation to withdraw its ongoing shutdown of central and state government offices to enforce its demand for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Government spokesman Th. Radheyshyam and Sapam Ranjan Singh, both MLAs, said the campaign should not “add more suffering to the suffering and inconvenience” of the people of Manipur, who “also want the NRC to be done” before the census exercise.

The government suggested that the campaign’s decision to intensify agitation for the NRC was unfair after the Union Home Ministry delayed the census process in Manipur. The speakers also pointed out that the Manipur Assembly had preferred 1951 as the base year for updating the NRC as desired by the majority of the people of Manipur.

Published – 13 Sep 2026 12:32 IST