(New York, September 4, 2026) \u2013\u00a0Indian authorities should urgently address renewed violence between ethnic communities in the northeastern state of Manipur, Human Rights Watch said today. At least\u00a0seven people were killed in late August 2026 in violence between the Naga and Kuki-Zo tribal communities in the state\u2019s hill districts, leaving 34 dead since the current violence between the communities began in February.\u00a0
The recent clashes between the\u00a0Naga and Kuki-Zo communities have expanded the\u00a0ethnic violence that had earlier involved the predominant, mostly Hindu, Meitei community and the mostly Christian Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023, causing more than 260 deaths and more than 60,000 to be displaced. Since February, armed militant groups from both the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities have\u00a0burned down homes in villages,\u00a0taken hostages,\u00a0blocked highways and engaged in gunfire. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government which came to office in February on the promise of peace and reconciliation, has taken inadequate measures to end the violence and provide security for both populations.
\u201cThe Manipur government has failed to stop the escalating ethnic violence in the state,\u201d said\u00a0Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe authorities need to take urgent and effective steps to end the killings, protect communities, and ensure justice for abuses.\u201d
The current violence between the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities began in February with a\u00a0minor altercation in Ukhrul district as tensions simmered over\u00a0decades-old\u00a0territorial disputes. It escalated after\u00a0three Kuki church leaders were killed after their meeting with Naga pastors in May to find a resolution to the hostilities. The violence\u00a0spiraled that month as armed groups on both sides reportedly abducted a total of\u00a048 people and held them hostage. The police found\u00a0six Naga\u00a0hostages dead a day after the Naga groups\u00a0released 14 Kuki hostages.
Naga groups blocked a national highway in May,\u00a0choking the supply of essential commodities, food, fuel, and medical aid to the Kuki-Zo majority Kangpokpi district. Kuki-Zo groups responded with a\u00a0counterblockade in July, restricting the access of goods from Imphal to the Naga-majority Ukhrul district through two Kuki-Zo settlements. They lifted the blockade three days later after Chief Minister\u00a0Yumnam Khemchand Singh called for the resumption of free movement on the state\u2019s highways.
However, the authorities have yet to resume transportation of goods to Kangpokpi district as
armed Naga groups continue to block the highway. The\u00a0Supreme Court on August 14 directed the Kuki and Naga groups to plan for reopening the highways.
The blockades have also led to an\u00a0increase in prices of food and cooking gas cylinders. Residents say fuel\u00a0shortages have made it increasingly difficult to reach district hospitals at a time when seasonal illnesses, such as scrub typhus, dengueand typhoid, are widespread. Manipur authorities should restore the free movement of vehicles and dismantle unofficial checkpoints, Human Rights Watch said.
A 32-year-old Kuki man whose 3-month-old baby died from a high fever, vomiting, and breathing difficulties on August 18 said he was unable to take her for treatment to the Kangpokpi district hospital 32 kilometers away. \u201cWe are so helpless,\u201d the man told Human Rights Watch. \u201cThere is a shortage of medicine in each and every village. We feel like the government is neglecting us. There are so many sick patients in villages, but we don\u2019t know where to take them.\u201d
A\u00a0pastor from the Naga community who suffered a gunshot injury on September 1 in Old Tapon village, Kangpokpi district, alleged that security forces were slow to respond when suspected Kuki militants opened gunfire and burned down homes, including his. \u201cEverything is gone,\u201d Luithuibou Newmai told Human Rights Watch. \u201cThere is nothing. No documents. Nothing is recovered.\u201d
An inquiry by the Ministry of Home Affairs the 2023 violence, set up in June 2023, has yet to submit its reportIn February 2026, three months before the most recent deadline, the retired judge leading the\u00a0commission resignedIn August, the Supreme Court directed a committee it appointed in 2023 to\u00a0oversee relief efforts to verify claims that several affected communities had yet to receive rehabilitation and welfare benefits. Local authorities should ensure adequate humanitarian aid reaches affected communities.
In accordance with the\u00a0United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, all internally displaced people should be provided with adequate food, shelter, clean water, appropriate clothing, essential medical services, sanitation, education for children, and other basic assistance and protection services, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or citizenship status.
Indian authorities should continue to\u00a0demobilize and disarm militant groups, ensure prompt reparation for victims and survivors of abuses, and provide for impartial justice and accountability measures, Human Rights Watch said.\u00a0
\u201cIndian authorities need to tackle the sources of the violence between the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities before more lives are shattered,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cThe authorities should restore security for affected populations, ensure justice for crimes committed by all sides, and work to rebuild trust between communities.\u201d
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