Ukhrul, Manipur: Tangkhul Naga villagers are living in fear after Kuki militants launched a coordinated attack on three villages – Sinakeithei, Thawai, and Litan – in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on March 19, 2026. Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) alleges the attacks are a bid to terrorize civilians and encroach on ancestral lands.
“The Kuki militants started shooting towards Sinakeithei village as early as 11 am. Sporadic firings continued in the area before the firing became more sustained as evening approached,” said the working Committee in a press statement.
The Committee alleged that, “The involvement of Kuki Militants, who are under the SoO agreement with the Government of India, in terrorizing civilians and inciting violence has become a well-established fact with numerous conclusive evidence.”
The body is urging the government to scrap the SoO agreement and take action against the militants. “At this juncture, the complete scrapping of the SoO agreement is the only sensible option to prevent the Kuki militants from turning Manipur into a warzone,” Working Committee, TNL warned.
“If the indiscriminate firing from the Kuki militants and the indifference from the Indian armed forces, the State, and Central government continue, the Tangkhul Naga village volunteers will be forced to pick up arms to defend our ancestral land,” the statement added.
At the time of this report, Sinakeithei village is still under heavy attack by Kuki militants with automatic weapons and explosives (Grenade, Lathode).
