Guwahati: The Kuki Civic Action Committee (KCAC) has condemned attacks on Lasan and Songpibung Kuki villages along Manipur’s Imphal-Tamenglong (IT) Road, following the killing of an electricity lineman while he was repairing a power line.
According to the KCAC, Paojangam Chongloi, 36, from Wakotphai village, was killed while on duty in Lasan. The committee linked the incident to a series of attacks along the IT Road, including those affecting Lasan, Govajang and N. Teikhang villages.
The KCAC said Kuki civilians living along the IT Road were increasingly exposed to armed violence, while access to essential services and humanitarian assistance remain constrained.
The committee also raised concern over what it described as a growing perception among affected Kuki communities that Naga armed groups were able to repeatedly attack civilian settlements without facing consequences. It urged the government to ensure that all armed groups, regardless of their identity, political affiliation or ceasefire status, are held accountable for attacks on civilians.
Calls for probe and civilian protection
The KCAC called on the Centre and the Manipur government to conduct an independent, impartial and time-bound investigation into Chongloi’s killing and other attacks on civilians.
It also sought the identification, arrest and prosecution of all those responsible, irrespective of their organisational or political affiliation.
The committee also urged the authorities to hold Naga armed groups operating under ceasefire arrangements accountable for attacks on civilians.
The security situation, it said, had also affected the movement of essential commodities to Kuki-Zo settlements along the IT Road. Residents were facing security threats, restricted movement, disrupted supplies and inadequate access to essential services, according to the KCAC.
The committee sought unrestricted movement of food, medicines and other essential commodities to civilians along the route. It also called for reliable emergency medical and evacuation arrangements for Kuki residents cut off by lack of security measures and road restrictions.
The KCAC urged the authorities to take immediate measures to prevent further attacks and restore conditions that would allow civilians to travel, work and access essential services safely.
It said civilian lives should not become “collateral damage” amid competing political and territorial claims by armed groups and urged the authorities to act before the situation along the IT Road deteriorates further.