Imphal: The United Naga Council (UNC) has strongly condemned the heavily militarised search and combing operation being carried out by the central security forces in Naga hill areas and termed it as “unwarranted and vindictive.”
In a statement, the UNC, an apex Naga body, stated that the Council has been keenly observing on the modus operandi of government’s agencies for quite sometimes and found no genuine efforts to contain the situation other than dramatic staging of an unwarranted operations in the areas belonging to the aggrieved party skipping the actual areas where the terror groups are nesting.
According to the UNC, the wanton arrests of innocent farmers and civilians aggravating the situations in the Naga hill areas, has imprinted fear psychosis in the minds of public.
The UNC expressed shock over the display of state high-handedness where personnel of CRPF’s CoBRA units carried out indiscriminate search operations across villages under Noney sub-division, resulting the cold-blooded killing of a Naga Village Guard (NVG), Lanbilung Riamei, while on duty protecting his onw village and in inflicting severe bullet injuries to NVGs and civilians.
The Council stated that the incident is nothing but a state-sponsored murder and hold the forces and the government directly responsible.
The UNC also strongly condemned the illegal arrests and detention of Naga leaders namely KC Savio, president of Rongmei Naga Council Manipur (RNCM), Gailanchung Kamei and Dr Aku Newme, general secretary of RNCM and Joint Tribes Council (JTC) in the wee hours of July 30 at Imphal in a cowardly midnight crackdown by the Manipur police commandos.
The Council stated that this Gestapo-style raid on Naga leadership is utterly illegal and unacceptable provocation.
Those arrested and who were later released represent the victims of the infamous Leilon Vaiphei village massacre, who have been seeking justice for their slain brothers, it stated.
“Instead of delivering justice, the UNC alleged that the state has chosen to persecute the victims. What Manipur is witnessing today is not governance but total tryranny, showcasing the weakest democratic form of government in the history of Manipur by the present Chief Minister of Manipur,” stated the UNC.
The UNC further stated that the incident has unfolded when the Naga people have been bleeding under relentless foreign and domestic aggression. Since February 7, 2026, armed Kuki militants under Suspension of Operation (SoO), particularly KNF-P, have carried out continuous attacks, killings ad abduction of Naga civilians across different locations, culminating in the most barbaric and satanic execution of six Naga men.
“The world knows it. The Government of India knows it. Yet justice remains denied,” it stated.
The UNC also expressed utter shock and dismay, stating that despite these well-documented terror activities by SoO Kuki militants against indigenous people, the agencies of the government of India have chosen to militants Naga areas instead of acting against the perpetrators of inhumane crime against humanity.
The Council also expressed concern over the continued phantom witch-hunt and militarisaton of Naga areas by sections of Assam Rifles and CRPF-CoBRA unit just before and after the Kuki militant terror strikes.
It is deliberate sinister design to disarm and cripple the Nagas of their inherent right to self-defense from external aggression, while no protection was extended to the aggrieved Naga villages by the state security forces. On the contrary, Kuki militants and villages are protected by the central and state security forces with all kinds of logistical support entitled to SoO groups, emboldening them to carry out further aggression against indigenous populations, alleged the Naga apex body.
This partisan, communal approach of the double-engine Government of India to crush the Naga people’s legitimate aspiration and sabotage the protracted Indo-Naga peace process must end. The leadership in Delhi must adopt a realistic and honest approach instead of pursuing policies of suppression, it said.
The Council further warned that, in no uncertain terms, they will not remain mute spectators to any action that engenders the lives, land and future of the Naga people.
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The UNC also appealed to all Naga people to remain calm, vigilant and united, strengthening their collective position to defend themselves from all forms of aggression, be it from within or without.
The UNC also cautioned that any further provocation will be solely responsible by the Centre and state government.
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