The Centre is working on a three-pronged approach to bring the warring Meitei and Kuki communities into a narrow common ground for lasting peace in trouble-torn Manipur, sources said on Wednesday.
Singh also attributed the current crisis to the 'failure' of the previous government in guarding the state's borders.
Refuting the opposition's claim that Manipur 'is burning', a senior government functionary said on Thursday that no killing has happened in the state since July 18 and asserted that peace and normalcy will be restored soon through ongoing talks with the two warring communities -- Meiteis and Kukis.
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 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 an address at an election rally in this southern-most part of Mizoram bordering Myanmar, Singh said violence is no solution to any problem and the two communities in Manipur must talk to each other to improve the situation in the troubled state.
The shootout occurred at a place between Haraothel and Kobsha villages though the police are not yet sure about how it began.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday directed strict action against the perpetrators of violence in Manipur and assured the state complete support from the Centre in ensuring lasting peace.
During the meeting, it was decided to hold consultations on a wider scale so as to arrive at a common political agenda with other groups, it said.
ZSF President Nengzalian Tonsing, who filed the FIR at Churachandpur police station on July 13, accused Tapta of promoting enmity between different communities.
The Zomi-Kuki organisation also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for a permanent solution to the ongoing ethnic strife
By ensuring Myanmar remains dependent on Chinese economic and military assistance, Beijing indirectly exerts pressure on India's North Eastern states, making New Delhi's regional security strategy even more complex.
'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.'
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, 43, a resident of Bihar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 8,500 crore in Manipur on September 13. This visit marks his first since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023.
'The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India'
Hours before a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur's ethnic violence, the state's high court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district, while ITLF, an apex tribal body also said it was postponing burial service plans following requests from the Union home minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for various development projects worth thousands of crores in Manipur, marking his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state. The visit includes interaction with internally displaced persons and the launch of infrastructure projects across multiple sectors.
An attempt was also made to torch another property of the consumer and food affairs minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on Friday night but timely intervention prevented it.
Ten Manipur tribal MLAs Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from security duties in the violence-hit state, saying its personnel have been putting their lives at risks to create buffer zones between the two warring communities.
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.
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.
Security forces columns, which were immediately deployed in these "vacant" villages, responded cautiously to avoid any collateral damage.
ESU coach Ngampao Kipgen, a member of the Kuki tribe, told Reuters he was forced to flee to the hills with his family after his house was burned down.
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
'You cannot 'clear' your way to peace.' 'You need intelligence, calibrated force, impartial law enforcement, political neutrality, humanitarian returns and a sustained reconciliation plan.'
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
In fresh violence in Manipur, two houses were torched by a mob in Imphal East district after two armed miscreants forced people to shut their shops on Monday afternoon, police 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.
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.
In a fresh incident of arms looting, a mob comprising the majority community broke into a police armoury and stole weapons, including AK and 'Ghatak' series of assault rifles, and over 19,000 bullets of various calibres, officials said.
The injured have been air evacuated to Mantripukhri and search operations are in progress, the Army's SpearCorps headquartered in Dimapur said on Twitter.
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.
The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.
Security forces have been diligently working to create buffer zones, such as the one established between Churachandpur and Bishnupur. However, this has proven insufficient to quell the unrest.
The militants armed with sophisticated weapons surrounded the villagers of the Khamelok area bordering Imphal East district and Kangpoki district and launched the attack at around 1 am, the police said.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 3 with over 150 people losing their lives.
"Dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur," Shah said.
Fresh clashes broke out between people belonging to Zomi and Hmar tribes in Manipur's Churachandpur district, hours after a peace settlement was reached between the apex bodies of the two communities. The Zomi Students' Federation imposed a shutdown in the district after a group of men tried to take down a flag of a Zomi militant outfit. Several persons were injured in the clashes. Meanwhile, MLAs and tribal organisations appealed for peace, urging the administration to take necessary measures to restore law and order.
Bose, who was earlier a Lok Sabha MP, pointed out in an interview to PTI that members of all the three communities had joined Netaji's INA in 1944 and fought shoulder to shoulder in the battlefields of Bishnupur and Ukhrul districts in an advance into India.
