Manipur Meitei, Naga Civil Groups Seek Action After Kuki Zo Council KZC Apologises For Killing 6 Naga Hostages

New Delhi/Imphal:

Two influential civil society organisations of Manipur’s Meitei community and the Naga tribes have in separate statements demanded swift action after the Kuki Zo Council (KZC) chairman Henlienthang Thanglet admitted on camera that “the Kuki-Zo people made a grave mistake in killing” six Naga men “out of emotion.”

A day after Thanglet made the comments, the KZC in another statement said “this expression of regret must not, under any circumstances, be misconstrued as an admission, confession, or acknowledgment that the killings were perpetrated by the Kuki-Zo community.”

The United Naga Council (UNC) in a press conference in Delhi today sought the Centre’s “immediate intervention” and demanded a court-monitored investigation into the killings. The UNC, which represents 21 Naga tribes, said the incident will “not be forgotten or forgiven”.

The UNC alleged “Kuki militant groups” kidnapped 20 Nagas on May 13 following the killing of three church leaders of the Thadou tribe earlier that day. It said 14 of them were released on May 15, while the remaining six were killed and their mutilated bodies were handed over later.

“The bodies were recovered on June 10. But so far, no arrests have been made. We are shocked to see the approach of the state and central security forces. They have done nothing to safeguard the properties and lives of civilians,” UNC leader Samson Remei told news agency PTI.

The Meitei Alliance, a global umbrella body of civil society organisations, in its statement said the KZC’s “public acknowledgment places an even greater responsibility on the government of India and law enforcement agencies to act swiftly, impartially, and decisively.”

“If established through investigation, these acts would rank among the most inhuman and barbaric crimes imaginable. Such cruelty is an affront to human dignity and an offence against the conscience of every civilised society. No explanation, apology, or appeal to emotion can diminish the gravity of these atrocities or substitute for justice,” the Meitei Alliance said.

“… This atrocity is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a disturbing pattern of abductions and brutal killings, including the massacre of six innocent Meitei family members at Jiribam – including women and young children, the abduction and murder of students Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit, and the recent murder of three Thadou pastors,” it said.

“These crimes demand a comprehensive investigation to identify not only the perpetrators but also those who planned, facilitated, concealed, or enabled them,” said the Meitei Alliance, which last year became the first civil society organisation in Manipur to meet the Thadou tribe’s representatives in a landmark people-led peace and confidence-building event.

The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), which says it represents the indigenous tribe, has increasingly asserted a distinct Thadou tribe identity, separate from Kuki political organisations.

After the peace meeting in August 2025, a leader of the Thadou tribe from Assam was kidnapped, tortured and killed by Kuki militants. Following a public demand for action, the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) admitted five of its insurgents were involved in the murder of the 59-year-old Thadou leader, Nehkam Jomhao, and agreed to help the Assam Police in the investigation.

Thadou are not Kuki. Therefore, many Thadou people have now returned to Imphal following the Thadou-Meitei community understanding amid the ongoing Manipur crisis.

Today, like the Nagas and Meiteis, Thadou people are also suffering the brunt of Kuki militancy and terrorism….

— Michael Lamjathang Thadou (@Michael_Thadou) May 20, 2026

Thadou organisations have alleged “Kuki militants and supremacists” do not want the Thadou tribe to assert their distinct status as not under the Kuki umbrella or peace to return in Manipur.

What KZC Chairman Said

In the video statement, the KZC chairman Thanglet had said, “… Yes, I agree that the Kuki-Zo have made a grave mistake in killing the six Kacha Naga civilians which is out of emotion. I really criticise it. However, the world, the country have labelled the Kuki-Zo as a very wicked tribe or a very bad tribe. But I would like to clarify that since the conflict with the Nagas of Manipur, I would like to question the government, the people of India, the people of Manipur and the Nagas as well because initially this conflict started with one drunkard Tangkhul boy beaten up and taken to a village authority to apologise, as per custom and tradition.

“However, due to outside interference that could not happen. And I am very sorry about this… And later on two Kuki-Zo men were killed and on the other hand the Kuki-Zo who held hostage 21 people have been released without any condition. Then again there is an ambush which killed three pastors as well as injured four.

“That trigger and with emotion, as I have said it earlier, they have killed out of emotion. I apologise on behalf of my people. But let’s see, till now our villages have been torched and 14 people have been murdered by the Kacha Nagas and Tangkhuls so far, whereas we have killed out of emotion those six Naga civilians. Imagine, who caused more murders, who torched more villages up till now…”

The KZC in the follow-up statement, referring to the comments – which include its chairman saying the killings were a “grave mistake” – said his “expression of regret was made purely in the spirit of humanity, compassion, and moral responsibility. His remarks were never intended to assign collective guilt to the Kuki-Zo people or to suggest that the Kuki-Zo community was responsible for the killings.”