The spokesperson of a Kuki-Zo insurgent group in peace talks with the government said on Thursday (September 10, 2026) that the ongoing unrest in Manipur was not a “Naga-Kuki conflict”, and alleged, instead, that certain elements linked to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) [NSCN-IM] were making attemps to manufacture such a narrative to serve their own interests.
Seilen Haokip of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), one of the two Kuki insurgent groupings in suspension of operations (SoO) pact with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Manipur government, said there was a deliberate effort to spread violence beyond existing conflict zones and draw the Naga and Kuki communities into a broader confrontation. The violence was not spontaneous, he said, adding that the objective was to divert attention from internal challenges within the NSCN-IM and revive support for the outfit by creating fresh fault lines in the hill districts.
Drawing parallels with the Naga-Kuki clashes of the 1990s, noting that violence at the time had spread from one area to several hill districts across Manipur, he said that the present situation was fundamentally different and that communities in the hills were aware of the risks of escalation.
NSCN-IM, the largest Naga insurgent group, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India in 1997 and, in 2015, signed a framework agreement to find a political solution to their demands.
