Imphal: The Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) has denied having any operational presence in India, accusing security agencies and the Manipur government of blaming the rebel group to conceal their own failures in maintaining law and order.
In an official statement issued on October 12, 2026, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), operating as the Government of Kuki State General Headquarters, said the KNA-B’s military activities were confined to Myanmar, where it claimed to be fighting for the restoration of democracy and the protection of civilians.
The organisation dismissed as fabricated recent intelligence reports alleging that two KNA-B cadres had been killed in Manipur’s border district of Kamjong.
The group further asserted that it had never conducted cross-border operations on Indian soil and maintained no operational links with Kuki armed factions based in India. Addressing concerns over shared ethnic ties among Kuki communities on both sides of the Indo-Myanmar border, it maintained that ethnic kinship should not be equated with cross-border militancy.
The statement also drew comparisons with historical instances of factional conflict involving other armed groups operating across international borders, including the NSCN-IM.
According to the KNA-B, Kuki communities in India have legitimate democratic avenues to raise their grievances and are pursuing political negotiations to resolve the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
The denial comes amid heightened vigilance by Indian security forces along the porous Indo-Myanmar border, where reports of the movement of armed elements have raised security concerns in several border districts.
The allegations and counterclaims come against the backdrop of continuing tensions in Manipur, with the presence and activities of armed groups remaining a sensitive security issue.