Imphal: The Eastern Flank of the Naga Army, operating under the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN/NSCN-IM), and the Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers Central Defence Committee (KZVV-CDC) are engaged in a fierce media war following intensified violence in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, where clashes between Naga and Kuki communities have continued for several weeks.
The GPRN has issued a strong statement alleging the involvement of Kuki militants and Indian security forces in incidents targeting Tangkhul Naga villages, warning against any attempts to carve out parts of Nagalim for a proposed “Kuki Homeland.”
Specifically, the statement referred to multiple incidents, including the assault of a Winger driver on the Imphal–Ukhrul Highway and an arson attack destroying Tangkhul Naga homes at Litan.
The GPRN accused Kuki militants of acting in “collusion with Indian security forces,” further alleging that the Government of India is using Kuki militants as proxies against Naga political rights.
Additionally, the Eastern Flank endorsed a resolution adopted by the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) on February 23, 2026, which called for cutting all civic and economic ties with Kuki communities along the Indo-Myanmar border, including bans on timber trade, petroleum products, and food supplies.
In response, the Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers Central Defence Committee (KZVV-CDC), frequently associated with the broader Village Volunteers Coordinating Committee (VVCC), issued a stern warning against the Naga Revolutionary Eastern Front (NREF).
The KZVV-CDC declared that NREF cadres will be treated as hostile elements and “engaged and neutralised wherever encountered” in defence of Kuki-Zo areas.
The KZVV-CDC accused the NREF of playing a “dangerous and destabilising role” in the escalating tensions across Manipur’s Ukhrul–Kamjong–Kangpokpi fringe belt. Furthermore, the committee alleged that the NREF operates with covert support from certain valley-based underground groups, with a deliberate agenda to incite unrest and fracture relations between the Kuki and Naga communities.
Reaffirming its commitment to protecting its people, the KZVV-CDC stated it would respond “firmly and without compromise” to any threat.
Despite the adversarial rhetoric, both outfits have paradoxically called for peace and coexistence in the region.