Manipur: The Kuki-Zo village of Khoikai near Chassad in Kamjong district was set ablaze early Wednesday morning,. Reports said armed groups entered around 4:18 am and burned homes and infrastructure, displacing families.
BY PC Bureau
October 21, 2026: Khoikai, a Kuki-Zo village near Chassad in Kamjong district, was set on fire in the early hours of Wednesday. by heavily-armed suspected Naga militants. Reports said the attack took place at around 4:18 am when the villagers were asleep.
Reports said that armed groups entered the Kuki-Zo village and set fire to residential homes and critical local infrastructure. Videos and photographs shared by residents and local accounts on social media showed structures burning. The village, which had already faced displacement pressures amid recent tensions in the area, was left with homes and property damaged or destroyed.
Manipur, 21 Oct 2026: After burning Chassad amidst central & state forces, Tangkhul-led NSCN(IM) terrorists in ceasefire talks with @HMOIndia have burned another Kuki vill, Khokai. Yet @YKhemchandSingh remains silent, unlike the combing ops in Khongban after Meiteis were killed. https://t.co/PNyK0kQzRA
— Samuel Khongsai (@samkhongsai_) October 21, 2026
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No official casualty figures have been released by security agencies as of Wednesday afternoon. Local accounts indicated that families were displaced and livelihoods destroyed, though independent confirmation of injuries in the Khoikai incident remained unavailable.
The arson follows violence in nearby Chassad village on October 17, where one civilian was killed and several others—including village chiefs—were injured in firing. Multiple houses in Chassad were also reported burned, and residents fled to forests or an Army camp.
The Kuki CSO Working Committee has attributed the Khoikai attack to armed members of the Tangkhul-led NSCN(IM) and allied groups it identified as SNA and Tangkhul NVV. It described the incident as a deliberate assault on civilian property. As of the latest reports, security forces had not issued a detailed public confirmation of the number of structures destroyed or the identity of those responsible.
Local Kuki-Zo organisations said the village was targeted while residents were vulnerable, and they demanded immediate reinforcement of security in the area. Further assessment of the damage and an investigation into the circumstances of the fire were pending.
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