Hostage crisis follows killing of pastors in India’s Manipur state

A hostage crisis in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has left 20 people unaccounted for following the killing of three Kuki-Zo pastors and their driver more than 10 days ago, triggering retaliatory abductions between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups, both predominantly Christian communities.

Federal authorities are now investigating after the crisis began May 13, when the pastors were ambushed while returning from the United Baptist Church Conference in Churachandpur to Kangpokpi, two hill districts in the state. The killings were followed by the abduction of villagers and travelers from both communities in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts.

The pastors killed in the attack were identified as Rev. Vumthang Sitlhou, Rev. Kaigoulun and Pastor Paogoulen, as previously reported by Christian Daily International. Four others were injured. Some Kuki-Zo groups blamed the Zeliangrong United Front’s Kamson faction, or ZUF-K, an armed Naga group, for the attack and alleged it was acting as a proxy for armed groups from the predominantly Hindu Meitei community in the state.

The Kuki-Zo and Naga communities are among the Christian hill communities in Manipur, a state battered by ethnic violence since May 2023. The earlier conflict involved Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities and left at least 260 people dead and more than 59,000 displaced. The Kuki-Zo community alleged that the Meitei-dominant state government and security forces played a role in the violence.

Since the violence erupted in 2023, heavily guarded “buffer zones” established by federal security forces between Kuki-Zo and Meitei areas have remained in place. Kuki-Zo groups say they suspect Meitei armed groups used the Naga faction, which has access to Kuki-Zo areas, to carry out the attack on the pastors and deepen tensions between the two Christian communities over territorial disputes.

According to a timeline released by Kuki-Zo community groups, the attackers fled toward the Ireng Naga area after the ambush and abducted six Kuki-Zo civilians along the way. Villagers from the Leilon Vaiphei area then detained 12 Naga civilians in retaliation.

The Senapati District Student Alliance, a local student body, subsequently detained 23 Kuki-Zo laborers who had gone to Naga-majority areas for commercial wood extraction work, along with two additional Kuki-Zos from the Senapati Bazaar area.

After mediation by the Indian Army, the Kuki-Zo groups released all 14 Naga hostages in their custody, according to the Kuki-Zo groups. Naga groups released 14 Kuki-Zos in return.

However, the United Naga Council (UNC), a principal Naga civil society organization, said in a statement that 18 of its people were taken by Kuki-Zos, of whom 12, including the wives of three detained couples, were released. Their husbands are among the six missing. A.C. Thotso, UNC working committee secretary, said the UNC feared the six men had been killed and their bodies were in the possession of the Kuki National Front, a Kuki-Zo armed group.

Protests have called for the release of a remaining 14 Kuki and six Naga hostages, with no information as to the whereabouts of the latter, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. 

Kuki-Zo groups have denied holding anyone beyond those already freed.

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh subsequently announced that the investigation into both the killing of the church leaders and the abduction of the six Naga men would be handed over to the National Investigation Agency, India’s federal counterterrorism body, according to Scroll.in.

"The subsequent retaliatory abductions and hostage crisis underscore how rapidly instability can spiral when faith leaders and peacebuilders are targeted," CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said in a statement. "We urge the authorities to conduct a swift, thorough and transparent investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we call upon all parties to immediately release the remaining civilian hostages. The international community must not look away as tribal Christian communities and peace advocates in Manipur face escalating vulnerabilities."

The Manipur Baptist Convention, Council of Baptist Churches in North East India, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation and Baptist World Alliance appealed to the United Naga Council and Kuki Inpi Manipur for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of the hostages.

The Baptist bodies said in a statement that the continued captivity of innocent people was causing anguish for families and deepening fear and mistrust in society. They urged those involved to act with restraint and compassion and asked communities and leaders in Manipur to reject violence, hatred, retaliation and actions that deepen suffering.