Correspondent
IMPHAL, SEP 15 (NPN): Two women were killed on Tuesday as violence involving fatality and arson escalated in the hill region of troubled Manipur.
With the latest incident, at least six lives—including four women—have been lost in less than a week amid violent clashes in Naga‑dominated hill districts of Tamenglong and Noney.
The killings occurred around 3 p.m. at Muktakhal (Leisangphai), a Kuki‑inhabited village in Tamenglong district bordering Jiribam. Reports said the attackers shot dead the two women and set several farmhouses ablaze, forcing villagers working in their jhum fields to flee. Some villagers were reported missing.
Local sources identified the deceased as Chong’a Sitlhou (60), wife of late Seidou Sitlhou, and Kimboi Singson (30), daughter of Paosei Singson, both residents of Leisangphai. Chong’a was collecting firewood near her jhum field while Kimboi, who had recently completed her nursing course, was returning home after assisting her family at their field.
Villagers searching for the missing later discovered the bodies with gunshot wounds in the paddy fields.
The incident came barely two days after four persons, including two women, were killed in separate attacks at Tollen village in Tamenglong district and Longpi village in Noney district on September 13. In the aftermath, several abandoned houses in Naga‑inhabited villages of Tamenglong bordering Jiribam were also torched.
Meanwhile, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) strongly condemned the killings, blaming cadres of NSCN (IM) and ZUF (Kamson) for the “unprovoked attack.”
Describing the incident as “brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians,” KIM questioned, “Where are the Central and State governments?”
Reiterating its commitment to peaceful coexistence, KIM said the Kuki people had exercised “considerable restraint despite repeated provocations and the loss of innocent lives.” It warned that “continued targeting of civilians and the apparent failure of authorities to protect them are pushing the situation towards an extremely dangerous point.”