'Deaths Were a Grave Mistake':

Kuki Groups Call for Reconciliation — Is There a Road to Peace?

News Report By Y-Trendz

In a rare and historic act of public remorse, the Kuki-Zo Council apologises for the killing of six Naga hostages in Manipur, calling for equal justice and a fair probe — but the path to lasting

peace remains steep and uncertain

Churachandpur/Imphal, June 26, 2026

In a moment that few observers of Manipur's prolonged and deeply painful ethnic conflict had dared to anticipate, the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community stepped before the cameras in Churachandpur on Thursday and did something extraordinary: it said sorry.

In a significant development amid tensions between Naga and Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) publicly apologised for the killing of six Naga civilians whose bodies were recovered earlier this month after nearly a month in captivity. Addressing the media in Churachandpur, KZC Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet described the killings as a "grave mistake" committed in an emotional state and expressed regret on behalf of the Kuki-Zo community.

"I agree that the Kuki-Zo people made a great mistake in the killing of six Kacha Naga civilians. I really regret it," Thanglet said, adding that he was apologising on behalf of his community and expressing sorrow for the loss of innocent lives.

It was a statement that cut through months of mutual recrimination, hostage-taking, and bloodshed — and one that now raises a difficult question: can this single act of contrition become the foundation for a genuine road to peace?

The Chain of Violence That Led Here

To understand the significance of Thursday's apology, one must trace the arc of violence that has consumed Manipur's hills since the beginning of 2026. At least 50 people from the Kuki and Naga communities were held hostage by different armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts following violent incidents on May 13, during which three church leaders were killed and four others injured in Kangpokpi district.

Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou, Pastor Kaigoulun Lhouvum and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou were shot dead on May 13 while returning from a peace conference in Churachandpur. They led the Thadou Baptist Association India. The cruel irony that men devoted to reconciliation were killed on their way home from a peace gathering encapsulates the tragedy of Manipur's crisis.

Within hours of the ambush, armed groups on both sides began seizing civilians in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts. Police later said that while 48 people were taken hostage in total, 28 were released within two days. Twenty remained — six Naga men and 14 Kuki-Zo civilians — their fates unknown for weeks as families waited in anguish.

On June 9, Naga village guards released the last 14 Kuki-Zo hostages, who had been held in Senapati district for 27 days. Their release had raised cautious hopes that the six Naga captives would also be freed. Those hopes were shattered the very next day. The bodies of the six Naga hostages were recovered from a forested area in Kangpokpi district shortly after the Kuki-Zo captives were released.

The grief and fury that followed was enormous. Relatives described a community marked by deep trauma. Winiliu Thiumai, reacting to how the remains were handled, said they were "kept in plastic bags and sacks, which is beyond human dignity."

The Apology: What Was Said

KZC Chairman Thanglet described the incident as "tragic and unacceptable" and stated it was neither authorised nor approved by any Kuki-Zo political or community leadership. He demanded that those responsible be identified and brought to justice through a fair, transparent and impartial investigation.

While expressing remorse, Thanglet also appealed against portraying the Kuki-Zo community as inherently violent or inhumane, arguing that members of the community have themselves endured significant suffering during the prolonged conflict. He stressed the importance of accountability and justice, calling for a fair, independent and comprehensive investigation into all incidents of violence.

The KZC also used the occasion to draw attention to deaths within its own community that it says have been overlooked. The Council said it was equally concerned that the killing of 14 innocent Kuki-Zo civilians in separate incidents since March 11, 2026 — including three pastors — allegedly by suspected NSCN-IM and its proxy outfit, the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson) (ZUF-K) — had not received the same level of attention, urgency and investigative focus.

The KZC said selective investigation and selective outrage will only deepen mistrust and make reconciliation more difficult.

Goodwill Gestures: A Fragile Foundation

The apology did not emerge from nowhere. Beneath the violence, both communities have shown occasional flickers of restraint and goodwill that may yet provide a foundation for dialogue.

The KZC recalled that following the abduction of seven Kuki-Zo individuals on March 10, 2026, a total of 21 Naga hostages held by Kuki-Zo groups were released as a gesture of goodwill. Likewise, the Council appreciated the recent release of 14 Kuki-Zo hostages by the United Naga Council.

The KZC said these incidents demonstrate that both communities have shown restraint and goodwill at critical moments, and that justice must be applied equally to all victims, regardless of ethnicity or community.

There were also powerful individual voices of forgiveness amid the grief. At the funeral of the three slain pastors in Motbung, attended by thousands, Haominlun Sitlhou, son of Rev. Dr. Vumthang Sitlhou, publicly forgave his father's killers, echoing his father's own efforts at reconciliation in the weeks before his death.

The Institutional Response

The Manipur government has already handed over the investigation into the abduction and killing of the six Naga civilians to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This signals that the Centre is treating the killings with the seriousness they deserve, though critics argue that NIA involvement alone is insufficient without a broader political framework for peace.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, and Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen — who belongs to the Thadou tribe, a constituent of the broader Kuki-Zo community — along with numerous prominent individuals and more than a dozen organisations, have strongly condemned the killings and demanded justice for the victims.

Archbishop Linus Neli of Imphal called for an inclusive peace accord he termed the "Manipur Agreement 2026," while Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Lumon warned there was "a loss of humanity" in the cycle of revenge.

The KZC has also flagged concerns about how security forces conduct themselves on the ground. The Council demanded firm and decisive action against militant groups responsible for attacks on civilians, including the NSCN-IM and the Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson), comprehensive investigations into locations suspected of sheltering perpetrators, reopening all blocked routes in Naga-dominated areas, and ensuring unhindered access to healthcare services and food supplies.

Is There a Road to Peace?

Lasting peace cannot be won through retaliation; it can only be built through genuine dialogue and the rule of law. Both Kuki and Naga leaders must choose the hard work of communication over the destructive cycle of violence.

Three years into Manipur's broader ethnic conflict, which has killed at least 217 people by official count — with broader estimates exceeding 260 — and displaced more than 58,800, the killing of church leaders from both communities, men once devoted to reconciling them, has only deepened the wounds they hoped to heal.

Thursday's apology by the Kuki-Zo Council is, by any measure, an act of moral courage. It will not by itself silence the guns, rebuild the burned homes, or bring back the dead. But it signals that at least some leaders on the Kuki-Zo side understand that the cycle of retaliation leads nowhere — and that accountability, however painful, is the only starting point for trust. Whether the Naga leadership, the Manipur government, and the Centre can now build on that opening is the question on which Manipur's future turns.

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Report compiled from IANS, Assam Times, Northeast Today, Morung Express, Eastern Mirror Nagaland, and Christian Daily International.