According to police, the attack took place between Kotjim and Kotlen in Kangpokpi while the group was travelling in two vehicles. (File Photo)
Three church leaders have been killed and several others injured after an attack on their vehicles while they were travelling from Churachandpur to Kangpokpi in Manipur on Wednesday morning.
The deceased, who have been identified by Kuki community organisations as Reverend V Sitlhou, Reverend Kaigoulen and Pastor Paogoulen, are part of the Thadou Baptist Association, and were reportedly travelling back to Kangpokpi after a church leaders’ meeting in Churachandpur.
According to police, the attack took place between Kotjim and Kotlen in Kangpokpi while the group was travelling in two vehicles. A security official said that militant groups are suspected to be responsible for the attack, but that the matter is subject to investigation.
The attack comes even as the conflict between the state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities has been continuing for three years, and amid heightened tensions between Manipur’s Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities, which started in February this year in Ukhrul district and has been escalating ever since.
One of the deceased, Vumthang Sitlhou, had previously served as the General Secretary of the Manipur Baptist Convention. “He had recently initiated a reconciliation meeting between Kukis and Nagas in Kohima, because of the current tensions between the two communities,” said Thangtinlen Haokip, a leader of the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity.
Referring to this, the Kuki Inpi Manipur said in a statement, “During the meeting, Christian leaders from both communities deliberated upon peaceful coexistence, restraint, and dialogue as the only path forward amidst growing tensions. It is therefore profoundly heartbreaking and enraging that a man who dedicated himself to peace and reconciliation should fall victim to such a merciless and calculated act of violence.”
Alleging the involvement of the armed Naga group Zeliangrong United Front, it stated, “Today’s heinous ambush upon unarmed Church leaders and civilians constitutes a direct assault on the spirit of peace itself. Further, Kuki Inpi questions the intent and timing behind such a heinous and cowardly attack at a moment when sincere peace initiatives and dialogue were being encouraged by Church leaders and civil society organisations to foster understanding and restore harmony between communities.”
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While the Manipur government is yet to officially respond to the incident, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said, “I strongly condemn the brutal killing of Kuki Church leaders in Manipur. Such barbaric violence against innocent lives is unacceptable and has no place in any civilised society. Condolences to the bereaved families and the church community during this time of grief.”
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