From militant attacks in the hills to torch rallies, street clashes, and shutdowns in the valley, Manipur is witnessing an alarming cycle of unrest putting pressure on the new government.
BY Navin Upadhyay
April 19, 2026 — Manipur’s fragile security situation deteriorated further on Saturday with a brazen militant ambush on the Imphal–Ukhrul road (NH-202), emerging as the latest flashpoint in the ongoing ethnic tensions and raising serious questions about a possible coordinated effort to destabilise the Yumnam Khemchand Singh government, just over two-and-a-half months after it assumed office on February 4, 2026.
On April 18 afternoon, unidentified armed militants ambushed a convoy of four civilian vehicles near T.M. Kasom village (between Litan and T.M. Kasom under Litan Police Station limits) around 2:30–2:35 p.m. The victims were travelling from Imphal towards Ukhrul and Kamjong districts when gunmen opened fire. The convoy had a security escort only up to Litan and was without protection beyond that point. The attackers fled immediately after the assault, and security forces have launched a search operation in the area.
Three persons were killed in the attack:
The case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the orders of Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, who strongly condemned the incident as a “crime against humanity.”
Naga organisations, including the Tangkhul Naga Long and the United Naga Council, have condemned the ambush and alleged it was carried out by suspected Kuki militants. They have questioned the security arrangements on the highway, noting that the attack occurred close to an Army post.
READ: Smoke Bombs, Tear Gas, Stone-Pelting Turn Imphal Streets into a Nightly Battleground
18/04/2026
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦 𝘃𝘀. 𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿; 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 #𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮. #𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗜𝘀𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗿
The Meira rally in #Manipur continues after two siblings were killed by #KukiTerrorists and three civilians were killed… https://t.co/mD6pqVGJPU pic.twitter.com/B018uTSoyM
— BeeThangjam (@beethangjam) April 18, 2026
Valley Erupts Over Tronglaobi Attack
Just days earlier, on April 7, a deadly projectile attack in Tronglaobi Awang Leikai, Moirang (Bishnupur district), killed two young children — five-year-old Tomthin Oinam and his five-month-old sister Oinam Leisana — and critically injured their mother. Protests erupted, with demonstrators torching petroleum trucks at the Moirang Oil Pump Station. This triggered a three-day internet suspension across five valley districts and has now escalated into a five-day statewide shutdown starting April 19.
Hundreds of protesters, largely women, staged a torch rally on the night of April 18 into the early hours of April 19, demanding justice. Thousands carrying flaming torches marched through Imphal, their firelight flickering against the night sky as slogans echoed through the streets. The leaping flames cast an eerie glow over the massive procession before chaos erupted when the rally ran into security barricades at Khurai Lamlong. Protesters pelted stones and, according to reports, used slingshots as they attempted to push through security cordons. Security forces responded with repeated rounds of tear gas shells and smoke bombs to disperse the advancing crowd, triggering chaotic scenes as thick smoke engulfed the area. Protesters scattered, regrouped, and continued defying the dispersal, turning the standoff into a volatile night of street confrontation that lasted until nearly 1 a.m.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC), Meira Paibis and other civil society groups have set April 25 as the deadline for arrests and other demands, including a military crackdown on suspected Kuki militants and a judicial inquiry into specific security units. The NIA has arrested five cadres of the United Kuki National Army in connection with the blast so far.
The Kuki-Zo Council condemned the killing of the children as “inhumane” while also denouncing the torching of fuel trucks meant for Churachandpur, rejecting any community linkage and warning against baseless blame that could deepen divisions.
Hills on Fire: Daily Kuki-Naga Clashes
The Naga-dominated districts of Kamjong and Ukhrul have seen almost daily clashes between Tangkhul Nagas and Kuki-Zo communities since the new government took charge. In March, two Kuki-Zo civilians — Thengin Baite from Thawai Kuki village and Thangboimang Khongsai from Shangkai village — were abducted and killed, with their bodies found bearing gunshot wounds. Dozens of houses have been burnt in the recurring violence.
Meanwhile, Zomi civil society organisations (CSOs) have jointly called for a total shutdown across Zomi-dominated areas of Churachandpur district on April 22, 2026, protesting the continued lack of justice in the case of late BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte.
The shutdown, scheduled from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., has been announced by key Zomi frontal organisations, including the Zomi Chiefs’ Association, Zomi Youth Association, Zomi Students’ Federation, Zomi Mothers Association, and the Central Village Defence Force.
Calls for CM’s Resignation from Multiple Sides
The pressure on the Chief Minister has intensified from multiple fronts. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a prominent Meitei civil society body, has demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister and Home Minister over the handling of the Tronglaobi attack and protests. Separately, Tangkhul Naga organisations have also raised strong demands for the CM’s resignation amid the escalating clashes and the latest ambush in their areas.
A Pattern of Destabilisation?
By all accounts, Chief Minister Khemchand Singh has been making sincere efforts to bridge the ethnic divide through peace outreach in Naga areas and reconciliation meetings with the Kuki-Zo Council in Guwahati. Yet, every time he initiates dialogue, fresh provocations and violence erupt — whether the March killings of Kuki-Zo civilians, recurring house burnings in the hills, the April 7 valley attack, or now yesterday’s deadly ambush on the Imphal–Ukhrul road.
Hardly a day has passed without the state witnessing one incident or another — whether violence, arson, militant attacks, threats, shutdowns, protests, or clashes between security forces and demonstrators. From recurring hill violence and attacks on civilians to valley unrest, torching of property, and repeated confrontations on the streets of Imphal, the frequency and spread of these incidents suggest more than isolated flashpoints. While each episode has its own immediate trigger, the persistent cycle of disruption has raised serious questions about whether a broader pattern of instability is taking shape, placing sustained pressure on governance, security, and the fragile peace process.
The simultaneous flare-ups across the valley and hills, coupled with resignation calls from both Meitei and Naga groups, have shocked observers. While any loss of innocent life is condemnable, the scale, timing and intensity of these protests — far beyond Manipur’s unfortunately familiar pattern — suggest a possible calculated design by militants, vested interests or other forces to keep the state in perpetual turmoil and undermine the elected government.
