Gunmen abduct 20 Nagas from three vehicles in Manipur

GUWAHATI: Suspected militants on Wednesday ambushed at least three vehicles passing two tribal villages along the Ukhrul-Imphal highway in Manipur and abducted 20 Naga men, women and children at gunpoint, threatening to trigger a fresh ethnic storm in a state already scarred by the Meitei-Kuki conflict. Ukhrul-based group Tangkhul Naga Long claimed the mass kidnapping was the work of Kuki militants, calling it a “pre-planned act of violence against the Naga people” and asked the state and central governments to “rescue them within two hours or face the consequences”.

Manipur Chief Minister: Unconditional release of all civilians

Manipur’s new Prime Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, who assumed office on February 4, made the appeal at a time when security agencies are scrambling to ascertain the abductions that took place near Mongkot Chephu and Shangkai villages in Kuki.“I am deeply concerned about reports of civilians being detained along the Ughurur-Imphal highway. I strongly urge the responsible parties to immediately release all civilians safely and unconditionally,” Kamchand said in a statement posted on social media. “Senior officials have been directed to take urgent action. I call on all civil society organizations and stakeholders to help maintain peace.”As of late Wednesday, no armed group had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The Tangkhul Naga “volunteers” initiated the confrontation in a statement from the Tangkhul Village Administration, which represents residents of Kuki settlement in Ukhrul, but did not mention the kidnapping. The report accuses them of shooting at farmers in fields in Thowai Kuki village, “detaining” several Kukis and setting fire to huts. In another area, two workers repairing water pipes disappeared after being shot by suspected Tangkul attackers, the village government said. A third villager with a gunshot wound to the leg was taken to hospital.“In view of the development, locals blocked vehicles along Ukhrul Road and demanded the immediate release of the missing persons,” the panchayat said.