IMPHAL: A day after four Naga civilians, including two women, were killed in an attack by armed extremists in Manipur's Ukhrul district, apex Naga body, Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), on Saturday issued a three-day ultimatum to the Centre and Manipur government, demanding the removal of Kuki militants from Naga areas.
Meanwhile, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister and senior Naga leader Losii Dikho, in a separate statement, called for dialogue and reconciliation to find a lasting solution to the state's ongoing ethnic crisis.
At least four people, including a mother and her son, were shot dead in a suspected ambush allegedly carried out by Kuki militants along the Imphal-Dimapur national highway (NH-2) at New Haven in Ukhrul district on Friday afternoon.
In a statement, the TNL said the New Haven incident was the fourth such attack at the same location, and demanded that the case be immediately handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation.
The ultimatum was issued following an emergency meeting of Tangkhul civil society organisations, which strongly condemned the killing of the four civilians in broad daylight, reportedly just a few metres away from security forces deployed in the area, the statement said.
The TNL held the Central and state governments solely responsible for their alleged failure to protect the lives of innocent civilians.
"We have lost complete faith in the central security forces. Therefore, all the Central security forces deployed therein must be immediately withdrawn. Till then, the victims' families have resolved not to claim the bodies," the statement said.
It further warned that failure to meet its demands would compel the general public to launch an indefinite agitation until justice was delivered. (IANS)