Tangkhul Naga Long issues 3-day ultimatum over New Heaven ambush

UKHRUL – The Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) has given the State and Central governments three days to “drive out all Kuki terrorists from Naga areas” and to hand over the investigation into the New Heaven ambush to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), according to a statement seen by Nagaland.News. The Tangkhul Naga Long ultimatum follows the killing of four civilians on the Imphal–Ukhrul road in Manipur on Friday.

The apex Tangkhul body has also demanded the immediate withdrawal of central security forces from the area. Until its demands are met, the families of the victims will not claim the bodies, the statement said, warning that “indefinite agitation will follow till justice is delivered”.

What the Tangkhul Naga Long ultimatum demands

The statement seen by Nagaland.News sets out three demands. The State and Central governments must remove “Kuki terrorists” from Naga areas within three days, the case must be transferred to the NIA, and central security forces must be pulled out of the area at once.

“Kuki terrorists” is the TNL’s own description. Police have not officially identified the attackers, and no group has claimed responsibility for the ambush. The statement does not say when the three-day period began, and it does not name a signatory.

Neither the Manipur government nor the Union Home Ministry had responded publicly to the Tangkhul Naga Long ultimatum at the time of writing. Nagaland.News could not find another outlet that had reported the statement when this article was published.

Four killed in the New Heaven ambush on NH-202

Gunmen fired on a Bolero Camper and a Swift Dzire near New Heaven in Ukhrul district at around 1 pm on Friday, November 13, killing two men and two women travelling towards Imphal, ThePrint reported, citing police. Nagaland.News reported the Imphal–Ukhrul road ambush earlier on Friday.

Police identified the dead as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleila R.S., a mother and son from Shangshak village, and siblings August Ngalung and Khanmila of Tashar village, according to ThePrint. EastMojo gave the same names and gave Khanmila’s surname as Keishing.

A senior police officer told ThePrint that “suspected Kuki militants” carried out the attack, but police have not officially named any outfit. Manipur Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh condemned the killings and questioned the response of the State and Central governments, Imphal Times reported.

Kuki groups deny role in the ambush

The Kuki KSO Working Committee in Ukhrul condemned the attack and said the Kuki-Zo community “categorically denies any involvement in the New Heaven ambush”, ThePrint reported. It called for any links to NSCN factions to be investigated and warned against using the killings as a pretext for operations in Kuki-Zo areas.

The Indigenous People’s Forum, Manipur, called the attack “heinous”, blamed what it called “Kuki narco-terrorist elements”, and sought an impartial investigation, including into “possible collusion or negligence by elements of the security forces”. 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.

TNL’s earlier calls for NIA probes and troop withdrawal

The demands are not new. On September 1, the TNL sought the transfer of cases involving attacks on Naga civilians to the NIA and called the authorities’ response “partisan”, NorthEast Now reported. In April, its working committee accused security forces under the Union Home Ministry of “openly waging a war against Naga civilians” after a bomb attack at New Heaven, Ukhrul Times reported.

The Manipur government handed the April 18 ambush at nearby TM Kasom, in which two civilians were killed, to the NIA, India Today NE reported. Tangkhul Naga bodies have also petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over security in Naga areas of Manipur.

Nagaland.News will update this story when the State or Central government responds to the ultimatum.