Shutdowns and an indefinite blockade over the hostage crisis continued to disrupt normal lives in the hill districts of violence-hit Manipur, even as two church teams visited Kangpokpi and Senapati districts to try and broker peace between the Kuki and Naga communities.A protest in Imphal for the release of hostages. (ANI)United Naga Council (UNC), an apex body, on Sunday criticised the state government over the failure to rescue the remaining six Naga hostages from the custody of Kuki groups. It launched an “inter-district economic blockade” along the national highways in Manipur’s Naga areas until the safe rescue and release of the hostages.On May 14, the UNC issued an ultimatum to the Manipur government demanding the immediate release of the hostages. A day later, 14 hostages, each from the Kuki and Naga communities, were released. The six remaining Naga hostages include two pastors. The UNC said the state government has failed twice in the rescue of the Naga hostages.James Hao, a UNC functionary, said they will not lift the indefinite economic blockade along the Imphal-Moreh, Imphal-Silchar, and Imphal-Dimapur national highways until their demands for the safe release of six Naga hostages are fulfilled. Hao added that police have launched a rescue operation, but no positive response has been received from the government.On Sunday, the Manipur Police said efforts were underway to find the abducted people.Kuki Zo Council (KZC), a Kuki Zo body, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding urgent intervention to protect the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur. It highlighted the deterioration of the situation in Manipur and sought a federal National Investigation Agency probe into the killing of three church leaders.The memorandum demanded an uninterrupted supply of essential commodities, deployment of security forces in sensitive areas, relocation of examination centres to Kuki-Zo areas, and a separate administration.On Sunday, the Kukis extended a total shutdown for another 48 hours due to the failure in rescuing the remaining Kuki hostages.A twin ambush at separate locations killed three church leaders in Kangpokpi district and one Naga man at Noney district on May 13. Kuki and Naga bodies have said 48 people (28 Kukis and 20 Nagas) have been held hostage.Manipur home minister Govindas Konthoujam maintained that over 38 people belonging to both communities were being held.Chief minister Khemchand Singh’s office on Monday said a 10-member team of church leaders called on him to discuss the situation between the two tribal communities. It said the church leaders volunteered to broker peace and lauded their role.The hostage crisis is the latest in a series of crises in Manipur, where ethnic violence has continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel. The state’s Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities shut each other out from the areas they dominate since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and displaced 60,000.The clashes first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities. They later involved almost every community in the state. The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the Imphal valley. The Kukis, predominantly Christian, reside in the hills.Chief minister Singh has maintained that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but the government has identified certain sensitive areas. His government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of the President’s Rule. The new government includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance.