Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho has condemned the ambush on civilians on a highway in Manipur's Ukhrul yesterday that killed two men, including a retired Indian Army soldier.
The two were travelling in a car from Imphal to Ukhrul when it was shredded by bullets on the highway in the district some 70 km from the state capital. The attackers, who the Manipur Police in a statement called "unidentified gunmen suspected to be militants", also targeted two other vehicles and damaged them.
"I am profoundly outraged by the barbaric killing of two innocent civilians and the grievous injuries sustained by several others yesterday at TM Kasom village, Ukhrul district. I condemn this heinous act in the strongest terms. It is heart-wrenching that this atrocity occurred just twelve hours after I visited the Ukhrul district with the Hon'ble Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh," Dikho said in a statement today.
"Having witnessed the people's genuine desire for peace, normalcy and progress, this calculated brutality is a bitter betrayal of the thirst and hope of every peace-loving citizen. This is a desperate attempt to derail the popular government, but the resolve of our government and the will of the people will prevail," Dikho, one of the two deputy chief ministers in Manipur and who is from the Naga People's Front (NPF), said in the statement.
Nemcha Kipgen, a leader of the Kuki tribe, is the other Deputy Chief Minister.
"We will not rest until those responsible are booked under the law of the land... I earnestly appeal to the citizens of Ukhrul District and the people of Manipur to maintain calm and restrain. We must stand united to reject this culture of violence and prove that our spirit of brotherhood is far stronger than the hatred of those who seek to tear us apart," Dikho said.
The two men from the Naga tribe who were killed in the ambush were SW Chinaoshang, 46, a retired Indian Army soldier, and Yaruingam Vashum, 42. Both were residents of Ukhrul district.
The ambush happened weeks after two children - a five-year-old boy and a five-month-old baby - from the Meitei community were killed in a bomb attack while asleep at their house in Bishnupur district.
The killings - amid the Khemchand government's bid to bring peace and normalcy - had sparked massive protests in the valley districts, with residents demanding justice and arrest of the accused. The police had said three United Kuki National Army (UKNA) insurgents have been arrested in combing operations following the bomb attack in Bishnupur.
The protests continued and intensified in Imphal and other valley areas, with residents calling for decisive action against those involved in the recent attacks.
Former chief minister N Biren Singh in a post on X appealed for calm.
"I am deeply concerned by reports of tear gas being used in the vicinity of hospitals and residential areas, causing distress to ordinary citizens. Such actions must be handled with utmost restraint and sensitivity, and these spaces must remain protected at all times. At the same time, I appeal to everyone to show calm and compassion. We are all citizens of the same land. Please refrain from violence and pursue only peaceful and democratic means of expression," he said.
During his Ukhrul visit a day before the highway ambush happened, Khemchand Singh met residents of several villages and highlighted the need for peace-building, reconciliation and normalcy in the border state where the Meitei-Kuki ethnic clash began nearly three years ago.
His outreach drew attention for its emotional appeal as he asked communities to move beyond past trauma and work toward a peaceful future, officials said.
The Kuki-Naga conflict that began in 1992 and lasted six years had taken the lives of over 1,000 people. The 2023 Kuki-Meitei violence has claimed over 260 lives.
