Sinakeithei, a village of over 700 houses is located at Ukhrul District, Manipur. It was a peaceful village, until the incident on 23 February 2026, turned the blissful area into a conflict zone where education has paused, livelihoods are falling apart and constant anxiety dictates the daily lives.
Villagers informed that on 23 February 2026 “kuki militants abducted Rasheng Awungshi at gun point and set Lungter Kaphung on fire. Since then, the village had come under frequent attacks by Kuki militants till 7 May 2026.”
Speaking with the media, Wunganing Zimik, Secretary, Sinakeithei Village Authority stated that “inspite of the presence of 4th Mahar Regiment and BSF, there is continuous attack from the Kuki militants from Lungter Hill Range, the western side of Sinakeithei and Shongmun, the southern side. Because of the attacks, the movement of the locals has been restricted fearing for our lives.”
The villagers are now demanding stationing of the IRB battalion at Sinakeithei because they have lost confidence with the central security forces. With only 15 police personnel, the villagers are also demanding for strengthening man power to 50. Their main demand is that the state security force should replace the central security force.
Rungsung Ulysis, Chairman of Sinakeithei Village Authority said that “since most of the villagers are farmers, agricultural activities have been hit hard with the farmers unable to attend their fields. There is no guarantee of our safety even with the large presence of security forces.” When asked whether the stationing of central security forces has given them enough security, he was blunt in pointing out that “it was the security forces curtailing our movement to attend our fields. On the other hand, the Kukis are allowed to move freely.”
Kachui Ngaranmi Zimik, Chairperson of Sinakeithei Shanao Long stated “since 23 February, 2026, we have not been able to take any activities for our sustenance, whether it is our fields or foraging in the forest. We have been forced to stay indoors because of the continuous attacks by the Kuki militants. We are living through fear psychosis, our children are traumatised. At night, the Kukis target us when we light up our homes. There is constant fear. We cannot harvest our crops that we planted last year. We are not yet ready to die. It is the month of May now. We should be transplanting the paddy but because of the situation, we are yet to tilt our fields. How will we fill our stomachs without planting our fields. We want peace and security, so that both the communities can carry on with our lives.”
Chanmi Longvah, a teacher stated that “we have already seen the impact of the COVID epidemic on our education. We are back to that situation. The sound of gunfire has destroyed the learning atmosphere. We are more concerned about our safety. Learning is no longer a priority. Parents are unable to pay school fees because they cannot move out of their homes to earn. This has in turn affected the payment of the salary of the teachers in private schools.”
Students of two private schools situated within the shooting range of Kuki militants have shifted to the government school for now.
Yaoreiwon Phungshok, a IX grade student of CCMK Academy expressed her fear stating, “we feel very scared these days. We hear gun shots every time, that makes us so scared that we cannot study like normal days. We cannot go to school every day. Most of the days our school remains closed. We go to school for only 13 to 15 days in a month. My classmates who have shifted to other places have advanced in their syllabus but we are just starting. Even if, we go to school, the daily schedule is not fully covered. And there are days when we just go home because of gun shots. I would like to request the government and the concerned authority to look into this matter as soon as possible. As a student, we really want to go to school and go back to school like normal days.”
Mayori Phungshok, a student of Model English School stated that ” for nearly three months, we have lived in constant fear. We did not go to school regularly. Our life is like being stuck in stagnant water. We can’t process our chapters, we cannot go to school in time. Our school has shifted to another school temporarily because our school is not safe. It is not easy to attend another school. We cannot have regular classes due to constant gun fire from different directions. We cannot concentrate on our studies. We don’t feel safe at home, at school, or at tuition. We want a peaceful environment for education and learning.”
The villagers of Sinakeithei have implored the Hon’ble Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam to visit Sinakeithei Village to assess the ground reality. The villagers observed that if the home minister could reach the border within two days of the incident on 7 May 2026, why has he not visited Sinakeithei Village which has been under attack since 23 February 2026.
