Indefinite lockdowns and sieges due to the hostage crisis continued to disrupt normal life in violence-hit hill districts of Manipur, even as two church teams visited Kangpokpi and Senapati districts to try to broker peace between the Kuki and Naga communities.
The United Naga Council (UNC), an apex body, on Sunday criticized the state government over its failure to rescue the remaining six Naga hostages from the custody of Kuki groups. It launched an “inter-district economic blockade” along national highways in Naga districts of Manipur until the hostages are rescued and released safely.
On May 14, the UN Command issued an ultimatum to the Manipur government demanding the immediate release of the hostages. A day later, 14 hostages, from both the Kuki and Naga communities, were released. The six remaining Naga hostages included two priests. The UNC said the state government twice failed to rescue the Naga hostages.
James Howe, a UNC staff member, said they would not lift the indefinite economic blockade along the Imphal-Moreh, Imphal-Silchar and Imphal-Dimapur national highways until their demands for the safe release of six Naga hostages are met. Howe added that the police launched a rescue operation, but no positive response was received from the government.
Manipur Police said on Sunday that efforts were underway to find the kidnappers.
The Kuki Zo Council (KZC), the body of the Kuki Zo, has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding urgent intervention to protect the Kuki Zo community in Manipur. It highlighted the deteriorating situation in Manipur and requested a probe by the federal National Investigation Agency into the killing of three church leaders.
The memorandum called for uninterrupted supplies of basic goods, deployment of security forces in sensitive areas, relocation of examination centers to Kuki Zo areas, and separate administration.
On Sunday, the Kuki family extended the lockdown for another 48 hours due to the failure to rescue the remaining Kuki hostages.
A double ambush in separate locations killed three church leaders in Kangbukpi district and a Naga man in Nonni district on 13 May. The bodies of Kukis and Nagas said that 48 people (28 Kukis and 20 Nagas) were taken hostage.
Manipur Home Minister Govindas Kunthugam confirmed that more than 38 people belonging to the two communities are in detention.
Prime Minister Kemchand Singh’s office said on Monday that a 10-member team of church leaders had contacted him to discuss the situation between the two tribal communities. She said church leaders volunteered to mediate peace and praised their role.
The hostage crisis is the latest in a series of crises in Manipur, where ethnic violence has continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel. The state’s Meite and Kuki Zou communities have isolated each other from areas they dominate since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and 60,000 displaced.
Clashes first began between the Meite and Kuki communities. They later involved almost every community in the state. The Metis people, most of whom are Hindu, live largely in the Imphal Valley. The Kuki family, most of whom are Christians, reside in the hills.
Prime Minister Singh stressed that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but the government has identified some sensitive areas. His government was formed in February, almost a year after the “presidential law” was imposed. The new government includes representatives of the three main sects as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance.
