Church Teams To Visit Kangpokpi, Senapati Districts To Help Defuse Naga-Kuki Tensions In Manipur
Imphal: Two church teams will visit Manipur’s Kangpokpi and Senapati districts in a bid to broker peace between Naga and Kuki communities, a government statement said on Monday.
A 10‑member delegation from the Council for Baptist Churches in North East India (CBCNEI) and the Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC) conveyed the offer to Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh during a meeting called to discuss the escalating crisis.
“The church leaders have volunteered to broker peace between the two communities,” the statement said. Singh welcomed the initiative and said he was moved by the church leaders’ steps, urging them to engage both communities through sustained dialogue to de‑escalate tensions and seek humanitarian solutions.
Hostage Crisis & Accusations
The mediation comes amid confusion and mutual accusations over a wave of abductions. Officials say 38 people were taken in a May 13 ambush, and while 31 hostages — including 14 Nagas and 16 Kukis — have since been freed, six Nagas remain detained, the statement added.
Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body representing Kuki tribes in the state, has claimed that 14 Kukis continue to be held by Naga groups.
The church delegation stressed the urgency of immediate releases, saying that church leaders “strongly feel that hostages on both sides need to be released urgently on humanitarian grounds.”
Separate Teams To Meet Families & Leaders
To maximise outreach and build trust, the church leaders will operate as two separate teams with distinct mandates. One team will travel to Kangpokpi to meet family members of the three church leaders recently killed in a gun attack, offer condolences, and hold discussions with Kuki church leaders about local security and reconciliation measures. The state government has assured ex gratia assistance to the families of the three deceased church leaders.
The other team will visit Senapati to meet Naga church leaders and members of Naga civil society organisations to hear concerns, assess the hostage situation on the ground, and press for dialogue.
Blockades & Stranded Truckers
Meanwhile, the crisis has spilled onto the roads. United Naga Council, the apex body representing Nagas in Manipur, has announced an indefinite inter‑district economic blockade along national highways passing through Naga areas, while KIM extended an ongoing shutdown by 48 hours from May 17 midnight, accusing authorities of failing to rescue those taken from Senapati.
According to reports, movement on NH‑2 remains stalled, leaving truckers stranded with shortages of food and drinking water. Truckers said, “We are just transporting goods. The groups must resolve these issues among themselves. We want the government to open the road so that we can move.”
Assam Rifles personnel and drivers’ unions are providing relief materials as immediate assistance, reports said.
