Kuki CSO body denies Kuki-Zo role in New Heaven ambush

UKHRUL – The Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul, has condemned the New Heaven ambush that killed four civilians on the Imphal–Ukhrul road and said the Kuki-Zo community “categorically denies any involvement” in the attack, according to a statement seen by Nagaland.News. The committee also said it would reject any “selective or retaliatory security action” against Kuki-Zo villages over the killings.

The statement, dated November 13, 2026, and issued by the committee’s Department of Information and Media, came hours after the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) issued a three-day ultimatum demanding that “Kuki terrorists” be driven out of Naga areas. Police have not officially named the attackers, and no group has claimed responsibility.

Kuki-Zo community denies role in New Heaven ambush

The committee described the attack on two civilian vehicles travelling from Ukhrul towards Imphal as “deeply condemnable” and extended condolences to the bereaved families. “The killing of civilians, irrespective of community or identity, must be unequivocally condemned,” the statement said.

It firmly rejected “any attempt to implicate” the Kuki-Zo community “without credible and verifiable evidence”. The committee warned that the tragedy “must not be exploited to manufacture communal narratives, assign collective blame or justify action against an innocent community”.

Parts of the statement were earlier quoted by ThePrint, which named the body as the “Kuki KSO Working Committee”. The letterhead of the statement seen by Nagaland.News reads “Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul”, with an office at Zalenbung under Litan police station.

Questions over escort timing and NSCN factions

The committee said the timing of the New Heaven ambush “demands serious scrutiny”. According to the statement, the attack took place between 1.30 pm and 2 pm, while security escort arrangements for civilian convoys were reported to begin from 2 pm. Nagaland.News could not independently confirm the escort schedule.

It also called for the “identity, motive and possible affiliations” of the attackers to be investigated, “including any connection with the ongoing internal conflict involving NSCN factions”. The statement offered no evidence for such a link, and no NSCN faction has been connected to the attack by police. “Responsibility must be established through evidence, not assumptions or convenient communal attribution,” it said.

Committee rejects selective security action in Kuki-Zo areas

The committee said it was “gravely apprehensive” that the New Heaven ambush could again be used as a pretext for searches, detentions, intimidation or security operations in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas.

It pointed to what it called a “glaring disparity” in the security response to earlier incidents, including what it described as the “Chassad massacre”. In that attack on Chassad village in Kamjong district on the night of October 17, at least 15 houses of Kuki families were set on fire and one civilian was killed, The Week reported. The committee said such incidents “further reinforce concerns over discriminatory enforcement”.

The statement set out four demands:

1. An impartial and time-bound investigation to identify and prosecute the actual perpetrators.
2. No collective blame or implication of the Kuki-Zo community without verifiable evidence.
3. An unequivocal assurance that no selective security operation, search, detention or coercive action will be undertaken against Kuki-Zo areas over this incident.
4. Equal and non-discriminatory security measures and accountability for all communities.

“We condemn the killing of all four civilians, stand with their bereaved families and demand justice. But we will not accept the victimisation of an innocent community through false attribution, collective punishment or selective security enforcement,” the committee said.

What police have said about the ambush

Gunmen fired on a Bolero Camper and a Swift Dzire near New Heaven in Ukhrul district at around 1 pm on Friday, killing two men and two women, ThePrint reported, citing police. The dead were identified as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleila R.S., a mother and son from Shangshak village, and siblings August Ngalung and Khanmila from Tashar village. Nagaland.News reported the Imphal–Ukhrul road ambush on Friday.

The committee’s statement gives the toll as “one woman and three men” and puts the time between 1.30 pm and 2 pm, which differs from the police account. A senior police officer told ThePrint that “suspected Kuki militants” carried out the attack, but police have not officially identified any group.

The ambush came a day after Kuki Inpi Manipur accused Manipur Police of ethnic bias in how it described attacks on Kuki and Naga civilians. The Manipur government had not responded publicly to the committee’s demands at the time of writing.