Three tribal church leaders killed in Manipur ambush

Security officials indicated the ambush could be a case of mistaken identity, noting that the attackers may not have known church leaders were traveling in the vehicles.

KOHUR said the slain church leaders were instrumental in convening a peace consultation under the Nagaland Christian Forum, which NSCN-IM allegedly answered with bullets.

The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) alleged that the ambush was carried out by NSCN (I-M) in active collusion with the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) as a premeditated act of terrorism.

Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, Kuki Zo Council, Thadou Inpi Manipur, and United Christian Forum of North East India (UCFNEI) expressed grief over the killings.

The Manipur Naga Legislature Forum, comprising nine MLAs, issued a joint statement calling for peace and the release of all Kuki and Naga civilians detained or abducted following the killings.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, and Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma condemned the killings and urged action against those responsible.

In Senapati district, the chairman of a Kuki village urged authorities to release 23 Kuki labourers detained by locals.

The Senapati district unit of the United Naga Council reported about 20 Nagas of Konsakhul village being held hostage by people from Leilon Vaiphei village soon after the ambush.

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh visited the injured at the hospital with Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, and other MLAs, saying the government would bear medical expenses and urging an end to abductions and intimidation.

Several Thadou, Kuki, and Zomi organisations announced a three-day total shutdown in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and other districts to protest the killings.

Joint columns of security forces evacuated the injured to the nearest medical facility and began extensive search and area domination operations.

Three of the four injured were rushed to a private hospital in Imphal for treatment; a fifth survivor who escaped was later tracked and rescued from the hills.

The slain leaders were Thadou Baptist Association of India (TBAI) president Reverend Vumthang Sitlhou, TBAI finance secretary Rev. Kaigoulun Lhouvum, and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou.

Suspected armed extremists attacked two vehicles carrying tribal church leaders travelling from a Baptist convention in Churachandpur to Kangpokpi on Tiger Road between Kotlen and Kotzim villages, around 10 a.m. Three people were killed and four injured; a survivor who escaped was later tracked and rescued.

There have been a series of attacks involving Kukis and Tangkhul Nagas in Manipur’s Ukhrul and Kamjong districts since February 2026.

The article notes that Kukis have been avoiding the shorter highway through the Imphal Valley since ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities erupted on May 3, 2023.