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United Kuki Liberation Front
Formation
The United Kuki Liberation
Front (UKLF) is one of the several small militant groups fighting for
an ethnic Kuki state, Kukiland. The outfit was formed on March 29, 2000.
Objective
The purported objective
of the UKLF is to uphold the interests of the Kuki community and form
a separate Kuki state called 'Kukiland'.
Leadership
S.S. Haokip is the 'Commander-in-Chief',
while N.C. Brollint Baite is the 'Information and Publicity Secretary'.
The exact cadre strength of the UKLF is
not known although reports indicate that is a small outfit.
Areas of Operation
The outfit is active primarily
in the Churachandpur district of Manipur. However, their presence has
also been notices in the Kuki-inhabited areas of the Chandel and Senapati
districts.
Source
of Funding
The UKLF funds its activities
primarily through extortion and collection of 'protection fees' from
the civilians in its areas of operation.
Linkages
with Other Groups
It reportedly has close
financial and military links with the Isak Muivah faction of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM).
Major incidents
2010
2009
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December 29: The ‘publicity secretary’
of the UKLF, Mathew Thadou, says that a community leader and his
mother and uncle were abducted from Langkhong village in Tamenglong
District on December 28 and kept in confinement by a Kuki outfit,
which is a signatory of the Suspension of Operation (SoO) ground
rules.
-
December 7: The Military Council faction of the
UKLF in a press release states that a person named Thokchom Ramkumar
alias Tocha (30) of Kwakeithel Thokchom Leikai in Imphal
was taken into the ‘custody’ of the outfit, due to his alleged anti-social
activities as he was ‘arrested’ with several grams of heroin no.4
along-with some ‘prohibited’ drugs. The statement has further stated
that the last date of his safe release is December 9 and that his
parents are informed to secure his release on or before the given
date line and failure of it may compel the outfit to give him ‘capital
punishment’.
-
December 4: Two UKLF cadres are
arrested by the Imphal East District Police from Golapati Maning
Leikai. They are identified as Shongjakhup Haokip alias Hekhup
(19) of New Molbem village in Chandel District and Letminthang Lhanghal
alias Ricky (20) of Makhan Village in Churachandpur District.
A revolver along with four live ammunitions is recovered from the
possession of Shongjakhup. They disclose that they joined the UKLF
in April 2007 through one self styled ‘officer’ of the outfit John
and are involved in extortion of money from general public and Government
officials.
-
November 26: A UKLF cadre, Benjamin Thangbem, is
killed by KNA militants at Tuibong village in Churachandpur District.
-
November 24: The Military Council
faction of the UKLF in a press release states that Sub-Divisional
Officer of Saikul in Senapati District is operating his office from
a subordinate’s house at Imphal even though the militant group has
given a clear ‘warning’ against Government officials who are not
attending their duties at their respective places of posting. The
group ‘warns’ the action if its diktats are not ‘complied’ by November
28 without fail.
-
November 11: A militant belonging to
the Military Council faction of the UKLF, identified as Poujamon
Vaiphei (27), is arrested by the Imphal East District Police from
New Checkon area.
2008
-
November 2: A team of Imphal East
district police commandos arrests a UKLF cadre, Seiboy Vaiphei alias
Alex Khoule, from New Lambulane. He belongs to Moldak village in
the Churachandpur district. He confesses that he joined the outfit
in January 2008 and was engaged in extortion from the general public
and traders of Imphal East area.
-
October 7: Assam Rifles arrest four
UKLF militants while 'escorting' a consignment of 1980 bags of urea
fertilizers being carried in 13 trucks near Molnom village in the
Chandel district. They are identified as David Kom, Zemesh, Houpu
Kuki and Daniel Kuki. The arms and ammunitions recovered from them
are two AK-47 Rifles with six magazines, a M-16 rifles with seven
magazines, nine lethod bombs, 188 rounds of AK-47 and 126 rounds
of M-16 rifles. The urea consignment is reportedly being taken to
Moreh from where it is to be sent out to Myanmar for using in making
drugs and in turn these drugs are to be smuggled out from Myanmar
to the market in Manipur and other parts in India.
-
May 27: Two UKLF cadres, Leivon
Parithoi alias Manglun and Mangte Mappu Aimol, are arrested by a
team of Thoubal district police commandos during a search operation
at Pallel Bazaar. Leibon Parithoi used to collect money for the
UKLF from trucks plying between Imphal and Chandel under the 'command'
of one 's/s deputy finance' Angam, whereas Mappu was aiding Parithoi
in similar activities.
-
May 20: The station master of Imphal-Churachandpur
passenger bus services, identified as Moirang Oksubung, is released
by the UKLF militants. He was earlier abducted in connection with
a monetary demand.
-
February 20: Konsam Tomba, a former
Irrigation and Flood Control minister, is abducted by suspected
UKLF militants. However, he manages to escape from the militants'
captivity next day and later informed the media that after escaping
from the abductors, he was in a forest for two days before being
rescued by the Thoubal district police.
-
January 13: The UKLF claims responsibility
for the killing of one Tongkhohao alias Haopu Haokip of Sinam village
in the Chandel district. The outfit's 'information and publicity
secretary' T.H. James Bond accused Haopu and his accomplice, Lunminthang
Haokip, of assaulting a UKLF cadre at Pallel without any provocation
on January 9. Haopu is a KNA defector.
2007
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December 18: Three KNA militants,
'l/cpl' Lanmilien alias Timothy Haokip, 'pvt' Haokholet alias Albert
Lhungdim and Henry alias Khailen, defect to the UKLF along with
one AK 56 rifle with two magazines loaded with 150 rounds, one US
Carbine with two magazines containing 150 rounds, a lathode propeller
(80-mm) and 10 bombs, one M-21 rifle with 100 live rounds, one walkie-talkie
set. This was reportedly the second case of defection from the KNA
to the UKLF in 2007.
-
April 23: Police arrested one UKLF
cadre, identified as Chonminlal Zou alias Chonchon alias Lalboi,
at Khurai Lamlong bridge in the Imphal East district.
2006
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March 30: The ‘celebration
of the 6th Raising Day’ of the proscribed UKLF was reportedly attended
by cadres of the NSCN-IM at a place in the Chandel district on an
unspecified date.
-
April 20: The UKLF
claimed that it had 'awarded capital punishment' to one Letngam
Khongthang, who was the chief in charge of Maokot village in Manipur
for ignoring the outfit’s warnings.
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June 12: SF personnel
arrested a UNLF cadre, Arangbam Satrajit alias Naopet, from Khurai
Nandeibam Leikai in the Imphal city.
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June 16: One of four
district supply officers of the state food and civil supplies department,
S. Puni, who was abducted by the UKLF
on June 12, was rescued by
a team of Manipur police from a spot near Aimol village under Thoubal
police station limits.
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July 19: The UKLF in
a statement made available to the local media warned the people
of Chandel district against giving any sort of support or monetary
assistance to any Kuki militant outfits other than UKLF and KNA.
-
February 9: UKLF claims to have killed
a civilian, Jangthong Khongsai, for his alleged 'anti-people and
anti-party activities, including extortion and harassment of innocent
people, at Sugnu in the Thoubal district.
2005
2004
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July 7: Three suspected UKLF cadres, including the Imphal 'town
commander' and the '2nd lieutenant' in its 'finance department',
are killed by the police during an encounter in the Langol reserve
forest area near Lainingkhul village in Imphal West district.
2003
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February 16: Unidentified assailants
kill three UKLF cadres at New Lamka in the Churachandpur district.
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July 11: Two UKLF cadres, including
a 'sergeant', surrender before the Manipur Chief Minister, Okram
Ibobi Singh, in Imphal along with a M-16 rifle, two magazines and
203 rounds of ammunition.
2002
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