IMPHAL: After Meitei, the Kuki militants are now targeting the Tangkhul Naga community in Manipur. Kuki militants torched several Tangkhul Naga villagers’ houses in Ukhrul district. The situation in the district is tense after the Kuki armed militants’ attack on the Naga villagers.
As per the report, armed Kuki militants set multiple homes in Manipur’s Ukhrul district ablaze late Sunday night, fueling fears of broader conflict. The arson incident took place after the Kuki militants’ attack on a group of Tangkhul Naga men, authorities reported.
The flare-up traces back to Saturday night (February 7, 2026), when a Kuki group reportedly beat a member of the Tangkhul Naga community—the largest Naga tribe in the state—in Litan village. Tensions boiled over Sunday afternoon (February 8) as Naga residents approached the Kuki village head, demanding the attackers’ surrender. This led to fierce stone-throwing between Naga and Kuki groups that evening in the Kuki-Zo enclave of Litan, located between Ukhrul town and the state capital Imphal. Armed Kuki militants reached the spot and beat several Tangkhul Naga men, injuring many.
District officials swiftly imposed restrictions to curb further violence. However, around midnight Monday, fires gutted several Tangkhul-owned houses in Litan Sareikhong. Eyewitnesses reported that armed Kuki militants came and torched the Naga villagers’ houses. The militants also fired to scare the Naga villagers.
Officials are assessing the full extent of damage, with the area still on edge. Circulating videos capture masked figures in camouflage torching structures and vehicles, while others discharge automatic rifles skyward. It should be mentioned that on many occasions, the Kuki militants have confronted the Naga community in the past. Manipur has been experiencing ethnic clashes since May, 2023. Clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities have internally displaced over 60 thousands of people in the state.
The previous N Biren Singh government resigned in February 2025, and the Popular government was reinstated in Manipur last week. CM Khemchand Singh, along with two deputy CMs from the Kuki and Naga communities, has been talking about building trust among the state’s 36 communities. But the Kuki militants are opposing the participation of Kuki MLAs in the newly formed government. They even threatened the Kuki MLAs, warning them to join the government at their own risk. But the latest attack on the Tangkhul Naga community by the Kuki militants is a worrying factor for restoring peace in the troubled state.
