Makui Bloodshed ‘Most Unfortunate’, CoTU Demands Dismantling of ‘Illegal Checkpoints’ at Chawangkining, Thonglang

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) condemned bloodshed at Makui along the IT Road, warning that prolonged restrictions on the movement of essential supplies could further deepen tensions between tribal communities in the region.

The Sadar Hills-based tribal body alleged that villages inhabited by the Liangmei community, particularly Thonglang and Chawangkining, had emerged as “epicentres” of a blockade on the movement of essential food and medical supplies towards Kuki-Zo settlements in the Twilang area since May 13.

The allegations come in the wake of the latest incident near Makui in which lives were lost, with CoTU describing the development as “most unfortunate and regrettable” at a time when Manipur had appeared to be gradually returning towards normalcy after more than three years of turmoil.

CoTU claimed that nearly 18 Kuki-Zo individuals, including three church leaders, had earlier been killed and several Kuki villages destroyed in attacks it attributed to Tangkhul-led NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson) groups.

It further alleged that civilian patients from the Twilang area had died after being deprived of timely medical care because of restrictions affecting access to medical facilities at Chawangkining and Thonglang.

In a sharp warning against further retaliation, CoTU said deprivation of food, alleged harassment of doctors and damage to medical supplies and equipment could fuel fresh violence unless immediate corrective measures were taken.

The committee strongly appealed to the state government to dismantle what it described as “illegal checkpoints” at Chawangkining and Thonglang and ensure the unhindered movement of civilians and essential food and medical supplies.

CoTU also called for immediate action against NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson), which it accused of being responsible for the prevailing “bloodshed” between the two tribal communities in the region.

The organisation stressed that restoring unrestricted humanitarian access and preventing further retaliatory violence were essential to averting another cycle of bloodshed in the conflict-hit belt.