A wave of attacks has intensified across Manipur, with armed militants launching coordinated assaults in multiple districts over the weekend. On November 10, suspected militants targeted several villages in Imphal East district, firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and maintaining sustained attacks from hilltop positions.
The violence began early morning on November 10, when militants attacked multiple villages, including Thamnapokpi, Yaingangpokpi, Sabungkhok and Sanasabi, firing on civilians from strategic hillside positions. During the attacks, an Army jawan from the 4th Mahar Regiment sustained a bullet injury in his left arm during a 40-minute exchange of gunfire with the militants. In a separate incident in Yaingangpokpi area, two individuals were injured while harvesting paddy when armed miscreants opened fire around 9:20 a.m., with three others reported missing from the same field.
This escalation follows two deadly attacks earlier in the week that claimed the lives of two women in separate incidents, stoking fears of renewed tensions in the conflict-torn region. The latest victim was killed on the morning of November 9 when alleged Kuki assailants shot dead a Meitei woman working in paddy fields in Bishnupur district’s Saiton village, located in the Imphal Valley. The attack, which took place around 11 am, prompted Border Security Force personnel to engage in an hour-long exchange of fire with the assailants, who were reportedly positioned on a nearby hillside approximately 100 metres away. The victim, who is survived by her husband and three children, died on the spot.
However, it was an earlier, more gruesome incident that appears to have triggered this latest wave of violence. On the evening of November 7, Zosangkim Hmar, a 31-year-old mother of three and teacher at Hermon Dew English Junior High School, was murdered in Zairawn village, Jiribam district. According to her husband Ngurthansang’s police complaint, members of the radical Meitei organisation Arambai Tenggol shot, raped, and burned her alive.
The attack began around 9:00 PM when the militants descended upon the village. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) reported that the attackers shot Zosangkim Hmar in the thigh before capturing her. In a statement, the Hmar Inpui, a civil society organisation, described how the attackers “shot Mrs. Zosangkim in the leg, rendering her unable to escape. Disregarding her humanity and her family's unimaginable grief, the attackers raped, tortured and burned her alive, denying her even the dignity of an honourable burial.”
The assailants allegedly allowed her husband to leave with their elderly parents and their three young children—Franky Lalchawisang (3 years), Victoria Laldomawi (9 years), and Lalringdik (7 years)—but refused to let her go. When her remains were discovered the next morning, witnesses reported finding fragments of her brain beside her charred body.
Ginza Vualzong, the spokesperson of ITLF told Christian Today that Zosangkim’s “brain was taken out, and her body burnt.” Condemning the killing, he said, “Such a heinous crime is inhuman and condemnable in the highest form. This shows how brutal the Meitei are, and how much they hate the Kuki-Zo.”
The attack occurred despite a peace agreement reached just three months earlier. Vualzong shared a copy of the meeting that took place on 1 August 2024 at the Group Centre CRPF Dayapur, Cachar, Assam between the representatives of Meitei and Hmar communities of Jiribam district initiated by the district administration.
In this meeting, both communities had reached consensus that:
· Both sides will make full efforts to bring normalcy and prevent incidents of arson and firing.
· Both sides shall give full cooperation to all the security forces operating in Jiribam.
· Both sides agreed to facilitate controlled and coordinated movement.
Calling this meeting a “peace agreement” between the two communities, Vualzong alleged that “the Meitei’s broke the agreement, by attacking Zairawn, a Hmar village in Jiribam.”
The Hmar Inpui called the attack “a chilling reminder of the relentless ethnic-cleansing campaign of the Meitei militants - a campaign that has terrorized our people without mercy for eighteen months.” The organisation added that “This bloodthirsty assault on innocent lives dispels any illusion of peace.”
The attack on Zairawn village also resulted in significant property damage, with seventeen houses and three stores being burned down. The assailants reportedly killed several dogs and made off with seven two-wheelers.
Jiribam Superintendent of Police Kh Robinsun Singh has sought permission to conduct the post-mortem examination at Silchar Medical College and Hospital in neighbouring Assam, citing the lack of forensic medicine facilities in Jiribam and the complications of transport to Imphal due to ongoing ethnic tensions.
The violence has sparked widespread protests across the region. While Kuki-dominated areas of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur district have witnessed demonstrations demanding justice for Mrs Hmar, the valley-dominant Meitei community has mobilised to protest Saturday's killing of the farmer in Bishnupur.
The protests were particularly intense in Sadar Hills, where hundreds of Kuki-Zo women from the Saikul region gathered in Saikul Hill Town, approximately 35 kilometers from Kangpokpi District Headquarters. Led by the Kuki Women Union Saikul under the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), protesters chanted demands for justice and a separate Union Territory with Legislature.
Ngahpi Chongloi, a prominent member of the Kuki Women Union Saikul, emphasized the gravity of the situation: “We are protesting against an unspeakable crime. The brutality of this attack is beyond words.” She questioned whether the Kuki minority’s voices were being heard, asking, “Are we not Indian enough that our voices continue to go unheard?”
These incidents mark a troubling return to violence in Jiribam district, which had remained largely peaceful despite the broader conflict until the killing of 59-year-old S Saratkumar Singh five months ago. That incident brought the district to the boil and forced many residents to flee as houses belonging to both Kuki and Meitei community members were set ablaze by mobs.
The Thadou Community International has condemned the attack on Zairawn village as a “heinous” act that risks undermining peace efforts in the area. Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi, representing Manipur's Jiribam, Tamenglong, and Noney districts, has called for a thorough investigation into what they termed a “severe violation of human rights.”
Authorities have tightened security presence across affected regions to deter further attacks, with district police launching investigations into both incidents. The recent bloodshed underlines the continuing crisis in Manipur as the state struggles with deep-rooted divisions and disputes over territory and political status. The conflict between the non-tribal Meitei and the Kuki-Zo tribals has claimed more than 250 lives since May 2023 and displaced 60,000 people.
The escalating violence has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of security measures in the region. Despite peace agreements, the shooting, rape and brutal killing of Zosangkim Hmar sends a strong message says Vualzong. “It proves that the Meiteis cannot be trusted. And because of these atrocities, it is not possible for us to live together with the Meitei. Separation is the only solution,” emphasised Vualzong.
