Hostage deaths spark fresh tension in troubled Indian state
FiaconaAuthorities have recovered the bodies of six tribal Naga Christians nearly a month after their abduction, triggering fresh tensions about safety and security in conflict-torn Manipur state in India’s northeastern region.
Manipur police confirmed the recovery of the bodies in a social media post without specifying the location.
After nearly 24 hours of sustained search operations involving around 450 personnel, sniffer dogs, and forensic expert teams, the mortal remains of six persons were recovered this afternoon, the June 10 social media post said.
The police said legal formalities are being carried out, and the investigation is underway.
The victims are believed to be six Naga men who were allegedly abducted on May 13 as part of retaliation by tribal Kuki militants after three Kuki Baptist leaders were killed in an ambush.
In response, Nagas also abducted Kukis. The last 14 Kukis were released on June 9, following a federal government assurance to work out ways to end hostilities that claimed lives on both sides.
The death of six Naga men is feared to further escalate tensions among predominantly Christian Kuki and Naga communities, who were already in conflict over the past two months, say local sources.
Two Kuki leaders were killed in a pre-dawn attack on June 11, believed to be a retaliatory attack, in Kamjong district. In addition, armed men entered Kultuh village in the early morning, fired shots indiscriminately, and set several houses ablaze.
Kuki Church leaders blame the federal and state governments, both run by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for failing to restore peace and improve the law-and-order situation since the conflict between majority Hindu Meitei and tribal Christians began in May 2023.
The conflict claimed over 260 lives, displaced over 60,000 people, and destroyed thousands of houses and worship places.
Christian leaders have accused Meitei of fueling rift and fighting between the Christian Kuki and Naga people to divide them for vested interests.
We have been bearing the brunt of the violence for three years, and now we are again accused of attacking our Naga brothers with whom we had a very friendly relationship, a Church leader told UCA News, seeking anonymity.
Our people are not getting medicine to treat our elderly and the sick, our children are unable to attend school, and even food is difficult to procure for us because of our fight against the Meities , he lamented.
He said that no sensible Kuki would go to fight against Naga under such circumstances.
We still do not know who killed the Nagas, and we are sorry for them, the Kuki Church leader said and demanded an independent probe into the killings.
Observers say the deadly conflict between Kuki and Naga is a result of an orchestrated plan by Meitei groups seeking to divide tribal along ethnic lines to divert the conflict between them and the tribal people in the hilly state.
Unless efforts are taken to solve the dispute before escalating further, it will gradually turn into a full-fledged fight between indigenous Christian Kukis and Nagas with more bloodshed and burning of houses, another Church leader told UCA News.
The Kuki-Naga conflict started after two Naga men were killed in an ambush on April 18. Kukis were blamed for the attack, which they denied.
Since then, 13 Kukis and eight Nagas were killed in attacks and counter-attacks, confirmed a Church official.
The United Christian Forum of North East India, an ecumenical forum, mourned the death of six Naga Christians.
The violent taking of these lives inflicts a wound not only upon the immediate families but also upon the entire social fabric of Manipur, the forum said.
It called for a quick and impartial investigation into the killings and justice, and urged all communities to refrain from anything that can fuel retaliation, hatred, or further violence.
This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/amp/hostage-deaths-spark-fresh-tension-in-troubled-indian-state/113751