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Manipur Naga body alleges commando action, announces shutdown after gunfight
Officials said security forces exchanged gunfire with the Naga volunteers during a search operation at Bitiang in the ethnic violence-hit state’s Noney district
A Naga body on Wednesday called for a shutdown and closure of highways, railways, and national projects across Manipur’s Naga-inhabited areas in protest against an alleged commando action against village volunteers at Bitiang in the ethnic violence-hit state’s Noney district.
Officials said security forces exchanged gunfire with the Naga volunteers during a search operation in Bitiang on Wednesday. Locals alleged that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)’s commando unit carried out an operation at a Naga Village Guard (NVG) training camp. People familiar with the matter said an unspecified number of NGV and at least two CRPF personnel were injured.
Officials said additional security forces, including Rapid Action Force and state police, have been deployed to control the situation.
The Working Committee of the Joint Tribes Council-Manipur announced the shutdown across Naga-inhabited areas, alleging the operation targeted their volunteers and amounted to a betrayal of Naga lives. It accused the CRPF’s commando unit of an “unprovoked and cowardly attack” and alleged collusion with a Naga insurgent outfit, Zeliangrong United Front-Jenchui.
The committee linked the incident to the killing of six Nagas. It accused the authorities of failing to bring those responsible to justice while launching an operation against Naga volunteers.
The committee called Wednesday’s operation a “blatant act of state-sponsored terrorism”. It alleged that “the real terrorists, the narcotic-peddling, men-eater Kuki militants” are roaming freely with impunity.
The committee said essential services, including medical facilities, schools and colleges, electricity and telecommunication services, would remain exempt from the shutdown. It added the shutdown would continue until the Union government takes “decisive and meaningful action” to arrest those responsible for the killing of the Nagas, ceases what it termed as hostile operations against Naga villages and restores justice.
On Monday, Kuki-Zo groups launched an indefinite counter-economic blockade on the highway connecting the ethnic violence-hit state with neighbouring Nagaland, saying it will continue until the government ensures the free movement of essential commodities to their areas. Naga and Meitei groups protesting the killings of six Naga hostages last month intensified an economic blockade against Kuki-Zos.
Naga and Kuki-Zo tensions escalated after May 13 twin ambushes left four people, including three church leaders, dead. On the same day, Kuki-Zo and Naga groups captured 48 people. On May 15, 14 captives each from the two communities were released. The remaining 14 Kuki-Zo hostages were freed unharmed on June 9. Mutilated bodies of the six Nagas were found the next day. Nagas blocked national highways, demanding justice.
The ethnic violence in Manipur first began in 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out of the areas they dominate.
The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the Imphal valley. The Kukis, predominantly Christian, reside in the hills. The state government has maintained that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but it has identified certain sensitive areas.
A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance. But sporadic violence has continued and has left over 260 people dead and displaced 60,000.
