Special Correspondent
Ukhrul, September 2:
A fresh wave of violence has set two Liangmai Naga villages ablaze, leaving 38 homes and four private vehicles destroyed and a church pastor critically injured, in what the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) Working Committee has described as a coordinated armed assault by Kuki militant groups.
The attack, which reportedly took place in the early hours of Tuesday, September 1, targeted Makui Piporam and Tapon villages under Kangpokpi district. According to the TNL, Luithuibou Newmai, pastor of the Tapon village church, was shot and critically wounded during the assault.
The TNL alleged that cadres of the Kuki National Front-Presidential (KNF-P) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) carried out the attack under the alleged leadership of Jangboi Kipgen, whom the organisation identified as Home Secretary of KNF-P and the United People’s Front (UPF), an umbrella body of Kuki-Zo militant groups.
The scale of the destruction has once again raised grave questions over the safety of Naga civilians and the ability of the authorities to prevent armed attacks on vulnerable settlements.
The TNL described the latest assault as part of a continuing pattern of attacks against Liangmai Naga villages in Kangpokpi, alleging that repeated violence, arson and intimidation were being employed to drive Naga residents from their ancestral settlements.
The organisation went further, alleging that the attacks were intended to facilitate demographic and territorial changes in Naga-inhabited areas.
The TNL’s most pointed criticism, however, was directed at the governments in Imphal and New Delhi.
It questioned how armed groups allegedly operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) arrangement with the Government of India could continue to be accused of carrying out attacks against civilians without decisive action being taken against them.
For the TNL, the destruction of 38 homes is not merely another isolated incident of violence—it is a warning that the security situation in the hills is entering an increasingly dangerous phase.
The organisation accused the authorities of failing to adequately protect Naga villages and warned that continued attacks could push communities towards a point of no return.
The TNL Working Committee simultaneously issued a call for Naga unity across artificial administrative boundaries, urging all Naga communities to put aside political and ideological differences and stand together in defence of their land, identity and people.
It said the Nagas were closely watching the continuing violence and the government’s response, warning that any future escalation would carry profound consequences.
“The day when the situation escalates beyond control,” the TNL warned, “will be the sole responsibility of the State and Central governments.”
The latest attack adds another disturbing chapter to the continuing cycle of violence in Manipur, where civilian settlements remain vulnerable despite repeated calls for restoration of peace and effective security.
The TNL has demanded decisive intervention by the authorities and accountability for those responsible for attacks on Naga civilians.
For the affected Liangmai villages, however, the immediate reality is stark: homes have been burned, a pastor lies critically injured, and another Naga community is once again confronting the devastation of armed violence.
The question now confronting the authorities is no longer simply who is responsible—but whether the government will act decisively before another Naga village is reduced to ashes.
