Kailenjang Chief Condemns Arson Bid, Deaths of Two Civilians; CoTU Blames Armed Groups, Calls for Verification

The chief of Kailenjang village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district has condemned an alleged attempt to set fire to the abandoned village and expressed grief over the deaths of two civilians from a non-Kuki-Zo community, saying she had entrusted the village's safety to close friends from the community during her absence.

In a clarification, Kailenjang village chief Lhingjahoi Hangshing said she and the villagers had left the settlement amid the ongoing tensions between the two tribal communities in the region.

"I strongly condemn the death of those two civilians from the non-Kuki-Zo community with whom I had negotiated to take care of my village during my absence," Hangshing said.

She also condemned what she described as an attempted arson attack on Kailenjang village by members of a neighbouring non-Kuki-Zo community.

Separately, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), Sadar Hills Kangpokpi, condemned what it described as an "attempted arson attack" on Kailenjang village and alleged that armed cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF had been involved in the incident.

CoTU alleged that the groups had been stationed at Taphou Naga and claimed that the incident resulted in the deaths of two civilians from the non-Kuki-Zo community.

“The unrelenting atrocities allegedly committed by the Liangmei Naga against the Kuki-Zo community have reached a peak, with the latest incident involving an attempted arson attack on the abandoned Kailenjang village by armed cadres of the Tangkhul-led NSCN-IM and ZUF Kamson faction, who were allegedly stationed at Taphou Naga, resulting in the killing of two civilians,” the committee alleged.

The Sadar Hills based tribal body said the allegation was based, in part, on its purported confirmation with Hangshing that the village had been entrusted to people from the neighbouring community after the villagers left.

CoTU also appealed to civil society organisations and the general public to refrain from giving communal overtones to the incident without verification from the competent authorities