Manipur burns again after pause

Armed groups went on a village-burning spree along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur’s Kamjong district on Wednesday (July 1, 2026), signalling the return of conflict between the Kuki and Naga communities after a pause.

In separate statements, two Kuki organisations — the Committee on Tribal Unity and the Kuki CSO (Civil Society Organisation) Working Committee — condemned the alleged torching of about 20 houses in Phaimol Kuki village. They accused the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) of coordinating the “targeted attack” with help from the Myanmar-based Shanni Nationalist Army.

The NSCN, also known as the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, is dominated by the Tangkhul Nagas, who are in the majority in Kamjong and the adjoining Ukhrul district.

The Kuki organisations said the armed groups carried out the attack a day after the paramilitary Assam Rifles vacated its security post at Phaimol, leaving the village unprotected. They pointed to a similar attack on the Kultuh border village on June 11, which “reflected a disturbing pattern of targeted violence against Kuki villagers” in Kamjong district.

The organisations urged the Centre to launch an immediate crackdown on the NSCN and other armed groups involved in the attack, asserting that their activities posed a serious threat to peace and stability across the northeastern region.

On the other hand, a Kamjong-based Naga organisation claimed Kuki armed groups set fire to Phaimol as a “pre-planned manoeuvre” to attack Huimin Thana and Kherongram, two Tangkhul Naga villages in the vicinity.

The Eastern Command Naga Village Guard said Manipur-based Kukis plotted the arson in Phaimol in collusion with the Kuki National Army-Burma to “establish a basis” for torching 25 houses in the two Naga villages.

“According to eye witnesses, 20 Kukis armed with sophisticated weapons crossed the Namya River from Phaikoh village situated at Border Pillar 102 and launched a targeted offensive against the Naga settlements. The locals managed to flee, but their houses were razed,” the organisation said.

It also said 20 camps sheltering 365 Burmese refugees at Kherongram since 2023 were also torched. “The attacks on the Naga settlements occurred minutes after 20 abandoned houses at Phaimol were deliberately set ablaze at around 1:30 p.m.,” the Naga organisation of village guards said.

It further said that the incident was orchestrated like the burning of Lanchah (Kuki) village before three Tangkhul Naga villages — Z. Choro, Wanglee, and Namlee — were attacked on May 7.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Police arrested three members of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, a Meitei extremist outfit, in connection with a series of grenade attacks targeting homes in Imphal East and Imphal West districts.