'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
For the first time since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur last year, a number of MLAs of Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities are set to hold a joint meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday under the supervision of the home ministry, officials said.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has condemned the killing of six people, including three women and three children, by suspected Kuki militants last week. He assured that his government would not rest until the culprits are brought to justice. Search operations are underway for the killers, who had taken the victims hostage in Jiribam district. Singh also expressed gratitude to the CRPF for their swift action in repelling an attack on displaced persons' camps in Jiribam, which led to the deaths of 10 insurgents. The CM has appealed for peace and condemned the violence as a crime against humanity.
The prime minister is likely to arrive in Manipur on Saturday, in what would be his first visit to the northeastern state since the ethnic violence broke out between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo people in May 2023, which claimed over 260 lives and rendered thousands homeless.
Locals in Manipur protest the killing of two Assam Rifles personnel in an ambush. Search operations are underway as tensions remain high.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday said the government was talking to both the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur to ensure lasting peace and has begun fencing the country's border with Myanmar to check infiltration.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been extended for six months in parts of Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh due to the prevailing law and order situation.
Security measures have been intensified in Imphal and Churachandpur, Manipur, in anticipation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's possible visit. The visit comes after months of ethnic violence in the state.
The incident took place on September 19 at around 5:50 pm when a vehicle-based column of troops of 33 Assam Rifles was moving from its Patsoi Company Operating Base to Nambol Company Operating Base.
The Manipur land resources department has lodged an FIR against the Kuki National Front (Military Council), a militant organisation, for promoting enmity between different groups in the state.
The Kukis have already declared that they are not fielding any candidate in the parliamentary polls as an act of boycott.
'We're ready. The numbers are there. The only thing missing is Delhi's nod.' 'If they try to force Biren back in, the whole thing will fall apart.'
'We are holding up in this difficult time and hope to bring her home on Thursday morning.'
The home minister said the central forces deployment will be increased, if required, and that they should be deployed strategically to restore peace and tranquillity in the state, according to an official statement.
Ethnic insurgent groups in Manipur are modifying looted weapons into makeshift sniper rifles, increasing their range and lethality. Security forces have recovered hundreds of weapons in recent operations.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made some strong observations against the state while hearing a plea filed by Lunkhongam Haokip that he was suffering from piles and tuberculosis and was not taken to hospital by jail officials despite having severe backache.
Manipur has been under President's Rule since February after BJP leader N Biren Singh resigned as the chief minister, amid criticisms about his government's handling of the ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zos, which broke out in May 2023.
Security forces on Wednesday stopped nearly 100 internally displaced people in Manipur from returning to their villages in Dolaithabi in Imphal East district, police said.
Parliament has approved a resolution to extend President's Rule in Manipur for another six months, amidst opposition protests regarding electoral roll revisions in Bihar. The extension comes after the imposition of President's Rule in February due to ongoing ethnic conflict.
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
These families were taken to the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on the northern side of Imphal Valley early on Saturday, as they had become 'vulnerable targets', an official said.
All the 12 cabin crew members, including two pilots, on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight were killed in the Ahmedabad air crash on Thursday.
Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence, according to leaders from the community.
All marketplaces in the town were deserted and attendance in government and private offices was nil. Schools and colleges also remained shut, officials said.
Two years after ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continue to live in overcrowded camps, struggling to rebuild their lives and facing an uncertain future. Despite the sacking of the Chief Minister and the imposition of President's rule, peace remains a distant hope. While hill-based Kukis demand a separate administration, Meiteis seek implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and deportation of those they consider illegal immigrants. The IDPs, grappling with severe psychological distress, feel forgotten by the government and are forced to depend on the mercy of others for basic needs.
A sessions court in Manipur's Churachandpur has been designated as a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court for the trial of cases related to ethnic violence being investigated by the NIA.
Clashes erupted between demonstrators and security forces in the Kuki-dominated district after police fired tear gas to disperse them, as they opposed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's directive allowing free movement across the state.
They said that such a solution must rest on the pillars of political will, inclusive dialogue, constitutional safeguards and impartial endorsement of law and order.
A delegation of a Meitei civil society group from Manipur has conveyed its concerns to the Centre over an incident where the state's name written on a bus windshield was covered with white paper. The group, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), expressed its commitment to peace and its willingness to cooperate in efforts to restore normalcy. They also raised concerns over the growing threats posed by narco-terrorism, cross border illegal immigration, and widespread illegal opium cultivation in the state.
The incident took place in Khoijumantabi village late on Saturday night when the 'village volunteers' were guarding the area in a makeshift bunker, a police officer said.
The consequences are dire as essential medical treatments, including dialysis, and medicines for cancer and anti-AIDS drugs remain out of reach for those in desperate need.
A member of the Meitei outfit Arambai Tenggol was apprehended for allegedly firing at security personnel during the recent protests in Manipur over the arrests of a leader of the organisation and four others, police said on Wednesday.
Security agencies in Manipur are investigating an arms smuggling racket originating from Myanmar, with potential nationwide implications. The probe follows the arrest of a senior leader from a Valley-based Insurgent Group (VBIG).
The governor was on her way to visit two relief camps at ECA Church Songgel and ECA Church Tuibong in the district where hundreds of Kukis have taken refuge since the ethnic strife broke out in the state on May 3, 2023, the police added.
The solution to Manipur's problems lies in the government giving concessions to Meitis in jobs and education and to accept autonomy for the tribal dominated areas inhibited by the Kukis, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The villagers were venting their anger after militants burnt down at least 100 abandoned houses including the residence of Sugnu Congress MLA K Ranjit at Serou in Kakching district on Saturday midnight.
In a statement, the ITLF said in view of a request of the home minister, the group will finalise an alternative location, in consultation with the people, for burial of bodies of ethnic violence victims belonging to the Kuki-Zo community which are lying in Imphal.
Haokip advocated giving "political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation" in the state, upping the ante from earlier vaguely explained demands for a "separate administration" for Kuki areas made by fellow Kuki community leaders.
People from Manipur's Kuki community held a protest outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in New Delhi on Wednesday against the ongoing violence in the northeastern state, the police said.
Singh also attributed the current crisis to the 'failure' of the previous government in guarding the state's borders.
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