The Naga People’s Front (NPF) and the Global Naga Forum (GNF) have expressed deep concern and strong condemnation following reports of a cross-border drone strike allegedly carried out by Indian security forces along the Indo-Myanmar border near Longwa village on October 20. The incident reportedly targeted the residence of a senior NSCN-K (YA) leader in Khammoi village, Myanmar.
According to reports, several individuals lost their lives, including family members of the targeted leader, while others sustained serious injuries. The NPF in a statement said it was “saddened by the loss of lives and the distress caused to the affected families and communities.”
Recognizing the sensitivity of the border region and the close human ties across both sides, the NPF stated that “such incidents call for careful examination to prevent further tension or misunderstanding.” It urged authorities to “take due cognizance of the situation and to ensure that peace, stability, and humanitarian considerations are upheld at all times.”
The Global Naga Forum, in a separate statement, described the strike as a “cowardly and inhumane drone attack” carried out around 6:30 pm Indian time (7:30 pm Myanmar time) on October 20 by the Indian Armed Forces across the “so-called international boundary,” targeting the Naga village of Khammoi, also known as Khenmoi-Loiyi, under the East Konyak Region.
According to the GNF, the attack killed two innocent Nagacivilians — seven-year-old Eli Phiphot Wangsa, a Grade-1 student of Khammoi Mission School, and 27-year-old Eno Khampei Wangsa, Joint Secretary of the Khammoi Students’ Union. Several others, including children, elderly women, and men, all innocent non combatants, were also injured. The Forum termed the strike “a gross violation of human rights and international humanitarian law.”
The Forum said this was the second Indian drone strike on a Naga village this year, calling it “a deliberate pattern of targeting Naga civilians beyond the imposed boundary.” It stated that the strike took place on ancestral Naga land and not deep inside Burmese territory like Yangon or Mandalay, where Naga people “have lived long before artificial international boundaries were drawn.”
The GNF also criticized the Government of Myanmar for its silence, saying that “its silence reveals a harsh truth that because we are Nagas and not ethnic Burmese, our lives are treated with indifference.” It recalled a previous cross-border attack on September 27, 2017, which it said reinforced “a pattern of impunity and disregard for Naga lives.”
GNF calls for international investigation
In light of this grave incident, the Forum called on the United Nations and international human rights mechanisms to take immediate cognizance of the drone strike and hold the Government of India accountable for violating international law. It also urged the Myanmar government to break its silence and “take a principled stand on this violation of its territorial integrity and the killing of civilians on its soil. Naga lives matter.”
Further, it demanded human rights defenders, democratic governments, and civil society to support an independent international investigation into the 20 October drone strike and other cross-border violations. It also demanded the Government of India to end military aggression against civilians and respect the inherent rights, dignity, and existence of the Naga people.
Extending condolences to the bereaved families and the Khammoi village community, the GNF said it “denounces this unjustifiable act of state violence and demands truth, accountability, and justice.”