KOHUR accused the UNC of attempting to shield the perpetrators of the Kangpokpi ambush while ignoring allegations raised by the Zeliangrong United Front against NSCN-IM operatives.
BY PC Bureau
May 23, 2026: The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) on Friday issued a strongly worded rejoinder to the United Naga Council (UNC) over the May 13 ambush in Manipur that left three senior Kuki-Zo Christian clergymen dead, accusing the Naga body of “deflection, inversion of facts, and moral evasion.”
In its statement dated May 23, KOHUR rejected the UNC’s earlier account of the incident and alleged that the organisation was attempting to shield those responsible for the attack while portraying the victims as aggressors.
The violence occurred on the morning of May 13 at around 10:15 am near Saheibung Peak, also known as “Zero Point,” between Kotzim and Kotlen villages under New Keithelmanbi Police Station in Kangpokpi district. According to security sources cited by KOHUR, a convoy of two clearly marked vehicles belonging to the Thadou Baptist Association India (TBAI) came under heavy automatic gunfire from eight to ten armed assailants positioned on elevated hillsides.
Three senior church leaders were killed in the ambush — Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sithou, President of TBAI and former General Secretary of the Manipur Baptist Convention; Rev. Kaigoulun Lhouvum, Secretary of Finance, Youth and Music Department, TBAI; and Pastor Paogoulen Sithou, Superintendent Pastor of the IT Road/Twilang Area under TBAI.
Four others, including TBAI Executive Secretary Rev. S.M. Haopu Sithou, sustained serious injuries.
KOHUR stated that Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sithou was widely known as a peace advocate who had recently organised inter-community Christian dialogues and also shared family ties with the Rongmei Naga community.
The organisation further pointed to a statement issued the same day by the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), which allegedly accused operatives of the NSCN-IM of carrying out the ambush while using the name “ZUF Kamson.” KOHUR said the allegation came from “within the Naga armed ecosystem itself” and criticised the UNC for what it called a “studied silence” on the matter.
READ: KOHUR Rejoinder to UNC 23May2026 v2
The human rights group also raised concerns over what it described as a hostage situation following the ambush. According to KOHUR, armed Naga groups allegedly detained civilians from Taphou and Hengbung villages after the incident, and 14 Kuki-Zo men between the ages of 16 and 50 remain in custody in Senapati district.
KOHUR claimed that the Tahamzam Youth Forum, which it described as closely linked to the UNC, had acknowledged the detention and proposed a prisoner exchange. The organisation contrasted this with earlier incidents in which Kuki-Zo villagers had allegedly detained and later released Naga civilians on humanitarian grounds.
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Accusing the UNC of “selective condemnation,” KOHUR said the Naga body had condemned the death of a Chiru Naga civilian on May 13 but had failed to similarly condemn the killing of the three clergymen or earlier attacks targeting Kuki-Zo civilians.
The statement referred to the March 2026 abduction and killing of two Kuki-Zo men in Ukhrul district as well as the April 2026 attacks on Mulam and Songphel villages, alleging that the UNC had remained silent on those incidents.
KOHUR demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the 14 detained Kuki-Zo civilians as well as the six missing Naga men. It also called for a time-bound probe by the National Investigation Agency into the May 13 ambush and urged authorities to investigate the ZUF allegations against NSCN-IM operatives.
The organisation further sought independent inquiries into earlier incidents of violence and called for an immediate end to civilian hostage-taking, with central security forces ensuring compliance on all sides.
In its concluding remarks, KOHUR stated: “Truth is not partisan. Justice is not tribal. The path to peace in Manipur cannot be paved with evasions.”
The exchange marks a fresh escalation in public accusations between Kuki-Zo and Naga organisations amid continuing ethnic tensions and sporadic violence in Manipur.
