Dy CM points finger at another Dy CM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 17 2026: With Naga-Kuki clashes showing no signs of abating, Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho has urged his Cabinet colleague Nemcha Kipgen to persuade her husband and his cadres to stop the "killing of Nagas" .

Nemcha Kipgen is also a Deputy Chief Minister in the State Government led by Y Khemchand, while her husband, Thangboi Kipgen, is the president of KNF-P, a signatory to the controversial Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Government.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conclave held at Hotel Classic Grande today, Dikho said that the appeal by a Kuki civil society organisations urging Nemcha to discharge her responsibilities from Imphal is a welcome step.

Both the Government and the people of Manipur would want Nemcha to function as a Cabinet Minister from Imphal, he said.

However, Dikho said that Nemcha must also take necessary steps to stop the killing of Naga civilians by Kuki armed groups.

Nemcha must ask her husband and his cadres to stop the violent campaign against the Nagas, he asserted.

His remarks came amid reports of the killing of at least seven Naga civilians, including a Nepali, in ambushes in Kamjong, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts on October 10 .

Meanwhile, NDTV reported that nearly 100 people have been killed in more than 300 incidents of violence in Manipur between January 1 and October 10, as per global conflict tracker ACLED .

While the Imphal Valley has been comparatively calm, violence has clustered in the hill districts of Ukhrul, Kamjong, Kang-pokpi, Noney, Tamenglong and Senapati.

The trigger for the latest round of violence was small.

On February 7, a Tangkhul Naga man was assaulted by a group of Kuki men at Litan Sareikhong in Ukhrul district.

Within three days, riots erupted, about 50 houses had been burnt, a curfew had been imposed, and the internet was suspended across Ukhrul.

The violence between the Kukis and Nagas has entered the deadliest phase, with September recording at least 19 reported deaths.

In the first half of October, the violence had claimed at least 13 more lives.

Twelve of them were reportedly killed in targeted killings and arson in Kamjong, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts in just two days ending October 10 .

Hostages, Ambushes and Burning Villages

This year's violence has been marked by targeted killings, arson, ambush attacks, and hostage taking resulting in beheadings.

On May 13, three Thadou Church leaders were shot dead in an ambush in Kangpokpi.

The same day, 18 Naga civilians were abducted.

Six of them, all Nagas, were killed, and their mutilated bodies were found on June 10 .

In early July, a Kuki and two Naga villages in Kamjong district were torched within hours of each other, followed by the Kuki village of Leikot in Noney.

On August 27, five Naga civilians were killed in an ambush on the Imphal-Tamenglong (IT) Road.

In September, Kangpokpi district saw the highest number of violent incidents, including the burning of at least 41 houses in the Naga villages of Tapon and Makui.

At least 16 people have been killed in ambushes and targeted attacks on highways and roads this year, according to ACLED, reports NDTV .

"Difficult terrain, dispersed settlements and vulnerable road stretches provide armed groups opportunities for movement and concealment, while making civilian travel susceptible to ambushes," writes Afsara Shaheen of the Institute for Conflict Management in a column.

On the Litan-TM Kasom stretch of NH-202, the road to Ukhrul, attacks this year killed a BSF constable, two Naga civilians, a truck driver from Bengal and a Nepali driver.

Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed in a July ambush on the same highway near Nungshang Kong.

The roads have also become a tool of pressure.

The United Naga Council blockaded NH-2 from June 11, extended the blockade to NH-37, NH-202 and NH-102A on September 9, and suspended it only on September 26 after tripartite talks.

Ceasefire Groups In The Dock

Naga organisations have accused Kuki-Zo groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact, chiefly KNF-P and KRA, in at least five deadly attacks between May and September.

The groups deny involvement, and no official inquiry has established responsibility.

Kuki bodies, in turn, blame NSCN-IM and ZUF-K.NSCN-IM has its own ceasefire with the Centre.

The SoO agreement was signed on August 22, 2008, between the Centre, the Manipur government and two Kuki-Zo umbrella groups, the Kuki National Organisation and the United People's Front.

It was meant to bring the armed groups to political talks.

Under the pact, the cadres of the two umbrella groups, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People's Front (UPF), are meant to remain in 14 camps set up by the government, with their weapons locked.

Naga and Meitei groups have been demanding the scrapping of SoO, alleging that the cadres often venture out of their camps to carry out attacks.

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