Desk Report,
Four Kuki people killed in shooting in Manipur
Four people were Four Kuki killed on Monday in the Churachandpur district of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, home to the Kuki tribe. Three of them were found dead in a car. Manipur police said on Tuesday that three of the bodies had bullet wounds. A woman’s body was also found.
Four Kuki people killed in shooting in Manipur
Manipur police said on Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into the incident and have launched a search operation in the area in southern Manipur to find the assailants. Police believe the killings were the result of internal clashes between Kuki rebel groups.
Manipur has been embroiled in a conflict between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Jo tribals for nearly two years. According to police, this incident is an exception.
In a statement on social media, Manipur Police said that the bodies of the deceased who have been brought to the Churachandpur Hospital so far are Thenkhothang Haokip alias Thahpi (48) of Matejang area of the district, Seikhogin (35) of Teseng village and Lengohao (35) of Chengkon area. Besides, the body of a 72-year-old woman named Falhing of Koet village is at the hospital morgue.
Thenkhothang Haokip was the deputy chief of a rebel and armed group called the Kuki National Army (KNA). The other two, Seikhogin and Lengohao, were ordinary members of the KNA. The KNA is a member of the rebel Kuki National Organization, which is made up of 17 tribal rebel groups in Manipur. In 2007-08, the Kuki National Organization signed an agreement with the Centre and the state government and declared a ceasefire.
The Kuki National Organization is opposed by the United Kuki National Army (U-KNA). The U-KNA has not agreed to a ceasefire with the government. They say that various organizations of the Kuki National Organization (such as the KNA) have been working with the government to harass them in various ways, sometimes even killing their members. One of those who harassed and killed them was Thenkhothang Haokip. He and his group have killed more than 30 members of the U-KNA in the past few years. Among them are top leaders of the U-KNA.
