The Kuki armed militants allegedly intruded into Tangkhul Naga territory, prompting a fierce resistance from Tangkhul Naga Village Volunteers leading to an exchange of gun fire on Thursday at Sinakeithei, Thawai and Litan of Ukhrul District, Manipur.
Locals informed that the gun firing at Sinakeithei Village started at around 11:00AM. The firings continued in the area even in the late night.
The Media Cell, Working Committee of TNL has issued a statement “today, on the 19th of March 2026, in what can only be described as a coordinated effort to terrorize innocent Tangkhul villagers and to illegally encroach upon ancestral lands of the Tangkhul Nagas, Kuki militants directly opened fire upon innocent civilians of three villages,
viz. Sinakeithei, Thawai, and Litan area.
“The Kuki militants started shooting towards Sinakeithei village as early as 11:00AM in the morning. Sporadic firings continued in the area before the firing became more sustained as evening approached. At the same time, the assault from the Kuki militants towards civilians in Litan and Thawai started in the evening.
“Village volunteers stationed at Sinakeithei and Litan have returned fire in the direction of the firings from the Kuki militants who are trying to encroach on the ancestral land of the Tangkhul Nagas. Village volunteers at Thawai have not yet retaliated, with the expectation
that the armed forces stationed at the village will act swiftly to stop the firing.
“The armed forces are expected to uphold their duty to preserve peace and to maintain order in such times. The involvement of the Kuki Militants, who are under the SoO agreement with the Government of India, in terrorizing civilians and inciting violence has become a well established fact with numerous conclusive evidences. As such, the State as well as the Central government are expected to swiftly act in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the event of any violation of the SoO agreement by the Militant groups. At this juncture, the complete scrapping of the SoO agreement is the only sensible option to prevent the Kuki militants from turning Manipur into a warzone.
“However, should the indiscriminate firing from the Kuki militants and the indifference from the Indian armed forces, the State, and Central government continue without any effort to bring about peace and order, the Tangkhul Naga Village Volunteers will be forced to pick up arms to defend our ancestral land from war mongering alien forces and refugees” the statement issued by the Media Cell,Working Committee of TNL.
No report of human casualty at the time of filing this report.
