Two Kuki women killed in Manipur

The ongoing wave of ethnic violence in Manipur claimed two more lives on Tuesday (September 15, 2026). Officials in the Naga-majority Tamenglong district confirmed that unidentified gunmen attacked Leisangphai village at around 3 p.m., killing two Kuki women.

Phalneichong alias Chonga Sitlhou, 78, was collecting firewood when the assailants fired at her. Kimjalhing alias Kimneo Singson, 28, who had returned home to assist her parents with farming after completing her nursing course, was shot dead at the same place.

The attack followed the September 13 killings of four Kuki civilians, including two women, allegedly by Naga extremists in Tamenglong and Noney, also a Naga-dominted district. On August 27, alleged Kuki armed groups killed four Naga civilians in the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district.

Condemning Tuesday’s attack, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) said the repeated killing of Kuki-Zo civilians has assumed an “unacceptable and alarming pattern” and could no longer be dismissed as isolated incidents.

“The KZC views these killings, reportedly involving the [National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah)] NSCN-IM and the [Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson)] ZUF-K, as part of an escalating pattern of attacks against Kuki-Zo civilians in Manipur. The continued targeting of civilians raises serious concerns about attempts to terrorise and drive Kuki-Zo communities from their settlements,” the Council said in a statement.

The Council demanded that the Manipur and Central governments protect vulnerable civilians, bring the perpetrators to justice, and take firm, lawful action against armed groups attacking civilians.

To register its protest, the KZC notified all Kuki-Zo civil society organisations that no Kuki-Zo person killed by Naga armed groups in Manipur would be buried until further notice. It said the mortal remains of every such victim would be preserved in the nearest available cold-storage facility until it issued further directions.

Condemning the incident, Saikul MLA Kimneo Hangshing said the alleged involvement of armed cadres of the NSCN (I-M) and ZUF (K), “if established through investigation, represents a grave and heinous assault on innocent civilian lives”.

The violence in Manipur has continued despite repeated appeals by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh to exercise restraint.