Churachandpur, Sept. 20: The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has strongly condemned the ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy at Nambol Sabal Leikai in Bishnupur district on September 19, which left two personnel dead and five others critically injured. The Council blamed suspected Meitei militants for the attack, describing it as “cowardly and brutal.”
In its statement, the KZC said the incident highlighted the “violent, anti-national, and secessionist character” of Meitei militant groups. The Council drew parallels to earlier assaults, including the 2021 killing of Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife, and young son, calling the repeated targeting of security forces part of a “continuing pattern of hostility” against the Indian state.
The KZC also linked the ambush to broader ethnic tensions, recalling the violence of 2023 when, according to the Council, more than 250 Kuki-Zo lives were lost, over 7,000 homes and 360 churches destroyed, and 40,000 people displaced. The statement termed these events “acts of ethnic cleansing” reflecting both “brutality and absence of humanity.”
Accusing the Meitei of decades of exploitation and monopolization of development resources, the Council alleged that current efforts aimed at the “systematic expulsion” of the Kuki-Zo people from their lands made peaceful coexistence under the same administrative framework impossible.
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The Council urged the Government of India to recognize the gravity of the situation and to pave the way for a political settlement at the earliest.
The statement was issued by Ginza Vualzong, Secretary, Information & Publicity, Kuki-Zo Council.
