UKHRUL: The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has issued a clarification on the June 26 firing incident at Kaiphundai.
According to a statement from the Central Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Zeilad, Zeliangrong Region, on March 20, 2026, Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF-J) cadres were transported from Khoupum and dropped at Old Agro Mile (Kaiphundai Kuki Village) by Indian security forces. The following day, they allegedly attacked the Kaiphundai outpost and then, instead of returning to their base camp, began collecting taxes in the name of the NSCN along NH-37, while also allegedly harassing travellers on the route.
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The NSCN-IM said that under the Cessation of Operation (Co0) agreement between the Government of India and ZUF (J), ZUF (J) cadres must remain at their designated camp, Mount Ararat, and are barred from tax collection. However, the NSCN-IM claimed that repeated appeals to ZUF (J) to stop its activities on NH-37 were ignored. To prevent further bloodshed after what it described as prolonged restraint, the NSCN then fired blank shots at Kaiphundai on June 26, 2026.
Further, the NSCN-IM further accused ZUF (J) of acting as a proxy of the Government of India to weaken the Naga national movement. It alleged that the government used ZUF (J) to transport cadres to attack the NSCN, a claim it said was corroborated by former cadres on social media. The group also accused ZUF (J) of misleading the Zeliangrong people in the name of a ‘Zeliangrong Homeland’ and described it as a self-styled outfit aligned with the government to sabotage the Naga movement.
The NSCN-IM then called on Naga factions operating in the Zeilad and Zeliangrong regions to endorse the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and the NSCN on August 3, 2015, and reiterated its openness to reconciliation with all Naga factions. “The Naga solution is One Talk, One Agreement,” the statement concluded.
