The Eastern Kuki Chiefs’ Association said the attackers belonged to an armed Naga group

Unidentified gunmen killed two Kuki people, including a woman, at a village in Kamjong district in Manipur early in the morning on Thursday (June 11, 2026) after violence broke out in Senapati district over the alleged killing of six Nagas taken hostage on May 13.

Both districts are Naga-dominated.

Officials in the State’s capital, Imphal, confirmed the death of two persons at Kamjong district’s Kuluth village near the India-Myanmar border. At least two others were reported injured.

The Eastern Kuki Chiefs’ Association said the attackers belonged to an armed Naga group. “The attackers mercilessly set fire to seven houses, including the village church, causing extensive destruction to both private property and a sacred place of worship,” it said in a statement.

On the other hand, the Eastern Command Naga Village Guard blamed the attack on an armed Kuki group in conflict with another Kuki extremist group over area domination along the international border. The Naga organisation claimed that one of the Kuki groups was Myanmar-based.

On Wednesday (June 10, 2026) night, a mob stormed the office of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Senapati town, about 60 km north of Imphal, and set its furniture and other properties on fire.

The NPF, a Nagaland-headquartered party, is an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Manipur. The regional party has five MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly.

The mob vented its ire on the NPF office after the security forces recovered the bodies of six Liangmai Nagas, allegedly abducted by Kuki extremists after three Thadou tribal church leaders were gunned down in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on May 13.

One of the reasons behind the storming of the NPF office was the perception that the party’s key leader and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio played a key role in the release of 14 Kuki hostages by Nagas on Tuesday, without securing the release of the six Nagas held captive by the Kukis.

The mortal remains of the six Nagas were recovered on Wednesday after nearly 24 hours of sustained search operations involving about 450 personnel of the Manipur Police, Central Reserve Police Force, and Assam Rifles, assisted by sniffer dogs and forensic expert teams.

The United Naga Council called a 24-hour shutdown to protest the alleged killing of the six Naga men. The shutdown affected normal life in the Naga-inhabited areas on Thursday.

In Meitei-dominated Imphal, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences after the mortal remains of the six Nagas were taken there for post-mortem on Wednesday night. The police used tear gas to disperse the mob.

Inspector General of Police Ningshen Worngam said the bodies were recovered after an intense search operation. “The case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency,” he said.

“The recovery of the bodies has shattered us. We are awaiting the forensic report to ascertain if they are our six missing people and identify who is who,” Timothy Wizunamei, president of Liangmai Naga Council, told journalists.

He further said that the family members of the deceased, along with community leaders, would decide on claiming the bodies after they are identified.