CoTU Blames Govt's 'Deafening Silence' for Unchecked Torching of Kuki-Zo Villages as Nungthut, Khongmol Burn During CM-UNC Talks

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), Sadar Hills Kangpokpi, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on both the Manipur government and the security establishment, alleging that continued official inaction against armed militants has emboldened successive assaults on Kuki-Zo villages, culminating in the torching of Nungthut and Khongmol villages in Manipur's Noney district on July 8.

The Kangpokpi-based tribal body said the latest attack was not an isolated incident but part of a sustained campaign of aggression against Kuki-Zo habitations, alleging that armed cadres of the NSCN-IM, supported by the ZUF (Kamson faction), have been carrying out repeated attacks while the authorities remain "mere spectators."

According to the committee, despite being aware of the scheduled meeting between Manipur Chief Minister Y. Khemchand and the United Naga Council (UNC) at Senapati on Wednesday to resolve the protracted economic blockade imposed by the latter, heavily armed militants allegedly led by NSCN-IM cadres and their proxy outfit, the ZUF (Kamson faction), descended on the villages of Nungthut and Khongmol in Nungba Sub-Division at around 4.30 pm and set both settlements ablaze, even as the state government was engaged in talks aimed at resolving the crisis.

Nungthut and Khongmol comprised around 30 and 15 households respectively, the committee said.

CoTU alleged that the destruction of the two villages came barely a week after the alleged torching of Leikot village in the same subdivision on July 2, describing it as evidence of an escalating pattern of targeted attacks on Kuki-Zo settlements.

The committee maintained that repeated representations, petitions and meetings with the government and security agencies seeking adequate deployment of forces in vulnerable Kuki-Zo villages have yielded no tangible response. It alleged that the failure to reinforce these areas has left innocent civilians exposed to recurring militant violence.

Expressing anguish over what it termed official apathy, CoTU said every warning issued by Kuki-Zo civil society organisations has gone unheeded, allowing armed groups to operate with increasing confidence and strike vulnerable villages without fear of effective retaliation.

The committee further alleged that the continuing attacks stem from the territorial ambitions of the NSCN-IM and cautioned against attempts to deepen divisions between Kuki and other Naga communities through what it described as an ethnocentric narrative promoted by a section of militant leadership.

Appealing for urgent intervention by the Centre, CoTU urged the Government of India to immediately deploy additional security forces across vulnerable hill areas and launch decisive operations to dismantle the operational capabilities of the NSCN-IM, its Eastern Flank and the ZUF (Kamson faction).

Warning that the prevailing security strategy has failed to deter repeated militant attacks, the committee asserted that unless the Government of India decisively curbs the operational freedom of these armed groups, Kuki-Zo villages will continue to remain under threat while security forces risk being perceived as passive observers to the worsening situation.