Amid shutdown and fresh violence, CoTU warns Govt against repeating "mistakes" of 2023
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, September 01 2026: Kangpokpi district plunged into a complete shutdown on Tuesday as simmering tensions in the violence-hit hills intensified following the killing of three villagers in an alleged attack on N Teikhang village in the Twilang area.

The 24-hour total shutdown called by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) began at 5 am, bringing normal life across the district to a grinding halt.

The shutdown was called in protest against the killing of three villagers - a man and two women - in the alleged August 31 attack on N Teikhang village.

The bodies of the victims were brought to the Kangpokpi District Hospital late Monday night by district police and central security forces and kept at the morgue.

Relatives and grieving villagers remained at the hospital through the night, mourning the deaths amid heightened fear and anger in the region.

Across Kangpokpi, shops and business establishments remained shut while vehicular movement came to a complete halt.

The shutdown also witnessed attempts by volunteers to block roads by piling up boulders and cutting down trees along the Imphal-Tamenglong (IT) Road.

Even the movement of security forces were affected in parts of the region.

While the bandh was in effect, fresh incidents of violence were reported from the IT Road belt.

While Kuki groups have accused Naga groups of launching attacks on their villages, Naga groups have levelled counter-allegations against Kuki groups.

Amid the rapidly deteriorating situation, CoTU has issued one of its strongest warnings yet to the Manipur Government, cautioning that the hills were once again approaching the kind of dangerous tipping point witnessed in 2023.CoTU spokesperson Ng Lun Kipgen accused Naga militant groups of "creating havoc" in the Twilang area.

"The region is now on the verge of a full-scale conflict," Kipgen alleged.

Issuing a blunt warning to the Government headed by Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh, Kipgen said the administration must not repeat what CoTU described as the "mistakes" of 2023.He said the catastrophic violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, could have been averted or contained had the then Government taken appropriate steps at the right time.

Kipgen appealed to the present Government to "act before the situation crosses a point of no return".

He urged the Government to take immediate measures to prevent the latest escalation from developing into another full-scale conflict in the hills.

On the shutdown, Kipgen said CoTU had already placed its demands before the Government through Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen during a protest held on Monday.

"The ball is now in the court of the Government," he said, making clear that CoTU was awaiting a response from the administration.

"We will see how the Government responds and accordingly consult with all the stakeholders and take concrete steps," Kipgen said.

He, however, warned that the shutdown could prove to be only the beginning of a larger democratic agitation if the Government fails to respond adequately.

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