Two Naga men were killed and two critically injured in a Senapati ambush blamed on KNF-P militants; the United Naga Council has declared a 24-hour shutdown across Naga areas of Manipur.
Imphal, August 14: Two Naga men were killed and two others critically injured on Friday morning when suspected militants of the Kuki National Front-Progressive (KNF-P) opened fire on a group heading to farmland in Senapati district, according to statements issued by Naga civil society organisations. In response, the United Naga Council (UNC) declared a 24-hour “Emergency Total Shutdown” across all Naga districts and Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur.
The attack took place around 8 a.m. as the group was on its way to paddy fields, the Indigenous Peoples Forum Manipur (IPFM) said in a statement. The UNC described those targeted as Naga Village Guards, while the IPFM and the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) referred to them as farmers on their way to cultivate their fields. The location was identified as Langka Naga Village by the IPFM and as Lengka Liangmai Village by ANSAM.
Accounts of the casualties varied slightly across the statements. The UNC named the deceased as Wiriliangbou Chawang, 35, who it said was shot dead on the spot, and Kawidinang Abonmai, 54, who succumbed to an abdominal injury en route to hospital. It said Namthiulungbou Prinmai, 45, and Maliangjinang Abonmai, 50, were injured in the groin and in the chest and arm respectively. The IPFM listed the same two men as killed but gave their ages as 34 and 55, and named the injured as Maliangjinang Abonmai, 52, and Namthiulungbou Prinmai, 50. ANSAM said one person died at the scene, a second died on the way to hospital, and two others remained in critical condition at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.
The UNC called the attack, which came on Naga Independence Day, “a direct challenge to the Naga people.” It also referred to a string of recent incidents in the region, including an August 11 attack on Tokpa Naga Village in which at least ten houses were reportedly set on fire, unresolved questions around the Kailenjang incident, and what it described as obstruction of security forces and goodwill missions. The council said these amounted to deliberate attempts to spread conflict and fear, and called for a thorough and impartial investigation to identify those responsible.
The shutdown, which took effect at 11 p.m. on August 14 and runs until 11 p.m. on August 15, exempts medical, fire and other emergency services, while shops, offices, institutions and non-essential activities are to remain closed. The Naga People’s Organisation, Senapati, fully endorsed the shutdown and called on constituent bodies, business establishments, transporters and the general public in the district to observe it. The Tangkhul Naga Long separately confirmed the shutdown would be observed within its jurisdiction.
The IPFM condemned the ambush as an assault on the right of civilians to work without fear and questioned what it called one-sidedness by the central and state governments in handling the crisis, demanding equal protection for all citizens and a transparent probe.
ANSAM linked Friday’s attack to an earlier, unresolved case: the killing of six Zeliangrong Nagas at Leilon Vaiphei, whose bodies it said remain at the JNIMS mortuary pending justice. Speaking to reporters at RIMS, ANSAM’s Secretary of Assembly Affairs, T. P. Denis, said the fresh killings had angered Naga youth and that the state government must take responsibility for any unrest that follows. Leaders of the Liangmai Students’ Apex Body, the All Inpui Students’ Union and the All Zeme Students’ Union visited the injured at RIMS on Friday.
