A fresh Naga-Kuki flare-up in Manipur’s Ukhrul has engulfed villages in flames and prompted a decisive five-day internet shutdown, as per Tuesday’s police disclosure. The unrest in Litan Sareikhong underscores persistent ethnic fault lines.
Miscreants torched multiple abandoned houses and fired indiscriminately, incinerating over 30 assets in recent days. Triggered by a supposed Kuki assault on a Tangkhul Naga, it followed blockades on Kuki transit by Naga outfits.
Robust countermeasures include surged deployments, area lockdowns, and a tactical control hub. Home official N. Ashok Kumar’s notice invokes social media perils, suspending broadband, VPNs, and more to thwart digital incitement.
Naga roots Deputy CM Losii Dikho spearheads parleys on-location, bridging gaps in a Kuki-populated hamlet within Tangkhul territory. From Sunday pelting prompting restrictions and gas shells, control teeters.
Congress chief Keshm Meghachandra decried the ‘alarming’ strife: ‘New govt, old woes—decisive peace restoration imperative.’ His call spotlights governance lapses amid simmering divisions.
With elites hunkered down, the strategy blends force and outreach, aiming to douse embers before a conflagration. Manipur watches warily, hoping this curbs a cycle of retaliatory violence in its tribal heartlands.