Kuki group announces shutdown of key Manipur highway after attacks on villages

A Kuki organisation in Manipur on Sunday (October 18, 2026) announced a “total shutdown” of National Highway 202 for four days to protest the continuing violence and the “absence of a credible security arrangement”.NH-202, also called the Imphal-Ukhrul road, was a key alternative route when National Highway-2, Manipur’s lifeline, was closed to certain communities after the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people erupted in May 2023. These highways reopened for passenger and goods movement from the second week of August.The shutdown call by the Working Committee of Kuki Civil Society Organisations (WCKCSO), from Sunday (October 18, 2026) midnight to Thursday (October 22, 2026) midnight, followed a series of attacks on villages near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur’s Kamjong district. At least one person, a Kuki villager, and several others were injured, and at least 15 houses were torched in attacks that continued till Saturday (October 17, 2026) night.The WCKCSO accused Naga extremists, specifically the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, of attacking Chassad and other Kuki villages near the Myanmar border. It also said the attacks in Kamjong and Ukhrul districts were carried out near bases or camps of the security forces.“The governments of Manipur and India must abandon hollow assurances and demonstrate their resolve through decisive, on-ground action before another innocent civilian is killed. All operations must remain lawful and intelligence-led, targeting armed cadres and their operational infrastructure rather than civilians solely on the basis of their community identity,” it said in a statement on Sunday (October 18, 2026).Blame gameNaga organisations, on the other hand, accused Kuki armed groups, including the Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma, of attacking Naga villages. They said at least three Tangkhul Naga civilians were injured in such an attack at Kamjong, the district headquarters, on Saturday (October 17, 2026).The injured, identified as T. Chithung, S. Malung and M. Shithung, were admitted to a local hospital.Meanwhile, the Manipur government replaced Tholu Rocky with Jay Barange as the Superintendent of Police of Kamjong district. In an order on Sunday (October 18, 2026), the government transferred Mr. Rocky to the Manipur Police Training Centre in Imphal East district.The Manipur Naga Youth Organisation condemned the State authorities for transferring Mr. Rocky, allegedly at the insistence of Kuki MLA Kimneo Hangsing. The organisation alleged that Ms. Hangsing urged Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh to transfer Mr. Rocky as he was a Naga, while “turning a blind eye” to Kuki police personnel allegedly involved in the May 13 Konsakhul (Kangpokpi district) kidnapping and killings.“The Nagas have long endured the State administration’s law and order failure in the hope of an early return of peace and normalcy, but the present government appears (to be) appeasing only the troublemakers,” the organisation said. Published - October 18, 2026 10:10 pm IST