Five killed in fresh ethnic violence in India's Manipur state

Five individuals lost their lives in fresh ethnic violence that erupted in India's Manipur state, according to police reports on Sunday. The incidents occurred in two separate locations within the conflict-prone region. In the first incident, three Kuki tribal men were killed in a confrontation with unidentified armed individuals in Noney district on Saturday.

Following the incident, the bodies of two additional Kuki men, who had gone missing earlier in the week, were discovered in Kangpokpi district on Sunday morning after a search operation was launched by security personnel.

A prominent Kuki tribal organization attributed the killings to Naga separatist groups, describing them as a "direct unprovoked assault … in their homeland." The violence unfolded amidst mass protests in Manipur's capital, Imphal, and other areas, where hundreds of thousands of people demanded the termination of a ceasefire agreement between Kuki armed groups and the Indian state.

The Kuki and Naga tribes, both predominantly Christian, have a history of conflict over disputes over ethnic territories in the remote northeastern state.

Tensions escalated after a Naga man was allegedly attacked by Kuki community members in February, and a series of retaliatory abductions and killings ensued between the two groups. The most recent Kuki-Naga clashes have exacerbated the already tense situation in Manipur, where the Kuki community is also locked in a deadly ethnic conflict with the mainly Hindu Meitei community that began in May 2023.

The ongoing conflict has displaced over 60,000 people, leaving them in temporary shelters, with more than 300 lives lost thus far.