Two days after they were held captive following the killing of three church leaders, 28 people belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities were released by different groups on Friday (May 15, 2026).
The gesture, following appeals from Manipur’s political leaders, church bodies, and community-based organisations, pointed to the easing of tension across the State’s tribal areas. However, the groups continued to hold at least 10 others — 16 according to the State’s Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho — hostage.
A State government communiqué said 28 people were released, although the unofficial figure was 31. Fourteen of those released were Kukis, and 14 were Nagas.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo organisation, said the security forces had intervened and proposed a one-for-one hostage exchange. It said the proposal was rejected as 28 Kukis were in the custody of Nagas, while 14 Nagas were held by the Kukis.
An ITLF spokesperson said the Kukis released all the Naga hostages, but the Nagas released half the number of Kukis they held captive. “The remaining 14 Kuki men are still unaccounted for,” he said.
The government said the Kuki and Naga civilians were held hostage in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and the Naga-majority Senapati districts. It said the situation on May 13 turned critical after unknown gunmen killed a Naga villager hours after suspected extremists gunned down three church leaders belonging to the Thadou community.
“The government sprang into action. The public leaders and all security forces made concerted efforts to trace these persons and get them released. As a result of the joint efforts of the administration, security forces, public leaders and civil society organisations, a majority of the detained civilians, 28 in number, belonging to different communities, have been safely released,” the State government’s statement read.
It further stated that all-out efforts were continuing to secure the safe release of the remaining hostages. The government sought the people’s cooperation in maintaining peace and securing the safe release of the others.
Mass burial
Kuki-Zo organisations appealed to the Naga civil society bodies to help secure the release of the remaining Kukis from captivity. The appeal followed the mass burial of the church leaders on the premises of the Thadou Baptist Association of India (TBAI) church at Motbung in Kangpokpi district.
The church leaders who lost their lives were TBAI president Vumthang Sitlhou, its finance secretary Kaigoulun Lhouvum, and pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou.
Haominlun Sitlhou, the son of the slain TBAI president, said the Kukis and Nagas should choose peace over conflict. “I forgive those who killed my father in the larger interest of peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) said that the church leaders killed and injured in the May 13 ambush were ethnically Thadou, not Kuki.
“References portraying them otherwise are inaccurate and deeply offensive, whether arising from ignorance, misinformation, or deliberate provocation. These leaders lived their lives proudly as Thadou until their final breath. Misidentifying them in death as Kuki, rather than acknowledging their true ethnic identity as Thadou, adds further pain to a grieving community,” the TIM said in a statement.
Published - May 15, 2026 11:17 am IST
