Manipur: Four Naga civilians killed in suspected militant attack

Four Naga civilians were killed and one injured after suspected Kuki armed groups allegedly attacked them along the Imphal-Tamei road in Manipur on Thursday, the police told Scroll.

The incident took place between Makui Ashang and Thanamba Naga areas in the Kangpokpi police station area.

Naga leader Wilubao Newmai alleged that armed Kuki militants had attacked the civilians.

The civilians killed in the attack have been identified as Wisobou Charenamai, Tadsongbou Ringkangmai, Mariakdibou Wijunamai and Anil Wijunamai.

Following the incident, the Naga People’s Organisation, a civil society group of the community, called for a shutdown in the headquarters of the Senapati district to protest the killings, Ukhrul Times reported.

The attack took place on an alternate route the Nagas have been using to avoid the highway that connects Senapati to Imphal, through Kangpokpi town, a community leader said.

“They were on the way to Senapati town to attend a meeting when they were ambushed on the way, the first such kind of killing in this area,” said Timothy Wijunamai, the president of the Liangmai Naga Council.

“We have been using this off road as an alternative route to connect with the rest of the world since the beginning of the ongoing crisis,” he said. “We were using this isolated hilly uneven road because we cannot use the highway...

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