Overview
- The Kuki‑Zo Council chairman publicly expressed regret on Thursday for the killing of six Naga civilians who were taken hostage on May 13 and whose mutilated bodies were recovered in June.
- Naga student and community bodies including ANSAM have called the apology insufficient and say it is not credible until the perpetrators are identified, arrested and prosecuted.
- The KZC has also urged impartial investigations and named militant groups it accuses of attacks while later clarifying the chairman’s words were meant as a humanitarian gesture and not to assign collective guilt.
- The National Investigation Agency has taken charge of cases connected to the May 13 ambushes and hostage deaths, and the United Naga Council on Saturday asked the prime minister for a time‑bound, court‑monitored judicial probe and stronger security guarantees.
- The killings form part of the wider, years‑long ethnic violence in Manipur that has driven displacement, disrupted supplies in hill districts, and prompted calls to review suspension‑of‑operations pacts with armed Kuki factions that Naga leaders call a 'proxy war.'