Imphal: The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), the apex body of the Tangkhul Naga community, on Saturday issued a three-day ultimatum to the Centre and the Manipur government, demanding the removal of Kuki militants from Naga areas and that the Ukhrul ambush case be handed over immediately to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), news agency IANS reported.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

The ultimatum followed an emergency meeting of Tangkhul civil society organisations. In its statement, the TNL said the New Heaven attack was the fourth such attack at the same location, held the state and central governments responsible for what it alleged was a failure to protect civilians, and said it had lost faith in the central security forces deployed in the area, demanding their withdrawal. It warned that if its demands are not met, the public will launch an indefinite agitation until justice is delivered. These are the TNL's allegations and demands; the attackers have not been officially identified.

The TNL said the victims' families have resolved not to claim the bodies until the demands are met. The bodies are lying at the JNIMS morgue in Imphal, DY365 reported, and Naga MLAs including Leishiyo Keishing, Dinganglung Gangmei, Kashim Vashum and Tongbram Robindro visited the morgue on Saturday.

Source: DY365

CM chairs security review, operations to be intensified

In Imphal, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh chaired a high-level security review meeting at the Cabinet Hall of the Chief Minister's Secretariat at Babupara on Saturday. Officials said the meeting decided to further intensify ongoing combing operations to apprehend those involved in the recent violence, and directed security personnel at various posts to strengthen arrangements in their areas to prevent further incidents, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The meeting was convened after two incidents claimed five lives in two days: a Kuki woman was killed in Kangpokpi district on Thursday in what officials described as a gunfight between two rival groups, and four Naga civilians, including two women, were killed in Ukhrul on Friday. Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh, Chief Secretary Rajeev Singh Thakur, Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, DGP Mukesh Singh and ADGP (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo attended, along with senior officers of the Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF and other central agencies, the Chief Minister's Office official said.

Police said the four Ukhrul victims were travelling in two separate vehicles when they came under fire from the vicinity of Yaolen village. Police identified them as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleia R.S. of Shangshak village, and August Ngalung and Khanmila of Tashar village; all four died on the spot. Additional personnel from Manipur Police, the BSF, the Army and the Assam Rifles have been rushed to the area and search operations are under way, officials said. The ambush is suspected — not confirmed — to have been carried out by Kuki militants, an allegation the TNL has made and police have not officially established.

Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, in a separate statement, called for dialogue and reconciliation, saying violence and retaliation can never heal the wounds left by the loss of innocent lives. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) criticised the state government over the prolonged unrest — an allegation the government has not responded to in these reports. What happens next turns on the TNL's three-day deadline and whether the case is transferred to the NIA.