DA Editorial Team
The news from Manipur is again one of killings. The death toll from fresh clashes between two communities in the state’s hill districts has risen to nine, and the situation remained tense on Sunday. The violence has struck mainly Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi, districts where Kuki and Naga villages lie close together.
According to reports, the trouble began on Friday night, when a 22-year-old woman, a mother of five, was shot dead by unknown assailants in Chassad village in Kamjong district. Chassad is a Kuki-dominated village in a Naga-majority district. Her killing was followed by an exchange of fire between Kuki and Naga armed groups that lasted until Saturday morning. A man was killed there and ten houses were burned. On Saturday, suspected militants attacked villages in Kangpokpi and killed three people, including two Naga village guards, while more deaths were reported in Kamjong and Ukhrul. A Naga civil society organisation has also alleged that a villager was beheaded. That claim has not been independently confirmed, but it shows the depth of anger on the ground.
Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh has condemned the killings, urged all communities to show restraint and told officials to restore peace. Additional security forces have been sent to the worst-hit districts. These are necessary steps, but they have been taken many times before.
What makes this round especially worrying is the pattern behind it. Since February, violence between Kukis and Nagas has killed more than 40 people and burned dozens of houses. This comes after the earlier conflict between Meiteis and Kukis, which killed over 300 people. A state that has not healed from one conflict is now facing another.
Three things are needed urgently. First, the killers must be found. The woman shot in Chassad is the starting point of this latest cycle. Unless such crimes are solved, communities will draw their own conclusions. Second, security forces must stop armed groups from operating freely in and around villages, and the border areas must be made safe. Third, dialogue must begin between Kuki and Naga leaders, with civil society and church groups at the table, before more lives are lost.
The people of the hills want to cultivate their fields, send their children to school and bury their dead in peace. They should not have to wait any longer for the state to protect them.