The Kukis have already declared that they are not fielding any candidate in the parliamentary polls as an act of boycott.
The Superintendent of Police in Manipur's Kangpokpi district was injured after a mob attacked his office on Friday evening over the officer's alleged failure to remove central force from Saibol village bordering Imphal East district. Kuki organisations have been protesting against the alleged baton charge on women by security forces on December 31 in Saibol village. The attackers threw stones and other projectiles towards the office to vent their anger over the continued deployment of central forces, particularly the BSF and the CRPF in the village. Several others, including police personnel and protesters, also suffered injuries during the clash between security forces and attackers.
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 Supreme Court on Tuesday refused urgent hearing on a plea seeking Army protection for minority Kuki tribals amid ethnic violence in Manipur.
'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.'
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra will be hearing the petition filed by NGO Manipur Tribal Forum.
The ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur has claimed 258 lives since May last year, the state government's Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh said on Friday.
All marketplaces in the town were deserted and attendance in government and private offices was nil. Schools and colleges also remained shut, officials said.
'The Bharatiya Janata Party government has taken strict action against the drug mafia and that is why the drug mafia became active in this incident and they have a big role in this Manipur violence.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Singh also attributed the current crisis to the 'failure' of the previous government in guarding the state's borders.
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.
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.
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.
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 deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, 43, a resident of Bihar.
The shootout occurred at a place between Haraothel and Kobsha villages though the police are not yet sure about how it began.
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 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.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of Manipur's Tamenglong district after a clash between two Naga villages over a land dispute left at least 25 people, including 12 security personnel, injured, officials said on Thursday.
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 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).
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.
President's rule was imposed in Manipur on Thursday, with the state assembly put under suspended animation following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The decision came after months of ethnic violence that claimed over 250 lives. Singh's resignation was attributed to his handling of the violence and allegations of instigating conflict. The imposition of President's rule was met with a sense of hope by the Kuki-Zo community, who expressed distrust of the Meitei leadership.
'Our gagged silence today portrays the silencing of justice, but our protest signify our love for India and justice.'
ZSF President Nengzalian Tonsing, who filed the FIR at Churachandpur police station on July 13, accused Tapta of promoting enmity between different communities.
'The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India'
The Zomi-Kuki organisation also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for a permanent solution to the ongoing ethnic strife
Supreme Court judge, Justice B R Gavai, expressed hope that the "current difficult phase" in ethnic strife-torn Manipur will be over soon with the assistance of the executive, legislature and judiciary and the state will prosper like the rest of the country. Justice Gavai, who led a delegation of Supreme Court judges that visited Manipur, called upon the people of the state to work together to restore peace and harmony. He also urged the people of the state to work together to restore peace and normalcy, and lauded the natural beauty he witnessed while travelling from Imphal to Churachandpur. He expressed delight in noting that training programmes were being imparted at the relief camps, and thanked the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court and the district legal services authority for their efforts. Justice Gavai also stressed the need for readmission of students who had to drop out of school due to the conflict and called upon the educational institutions and the public to ensure all students complete their education.
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.
'Look at the post mortem reports. Every body (of the 10 Kuki-Zo youth who were killed) has almost 12 bullet marks on it.' 'Why do they have to fire so much even if they wanted to kill them?' 'One or two shots would be enough to kill them. Why then they had to fire so many bullets on them?'
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.
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh is facing renewed scrutiny over his handling of the ethnic violence that erupted in the state in May 2023. Leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring Singh, in which he is purportedly heard discussing how the violence was instigated with his approval, have sparked fresh controversy. The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) has demanded a court-monitored investigation into the authenticity of the tapes, leading to a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to verify the tapes' authenticity and submit a report. Singh's tenure has been marked by controversies, including allegations of instigating conflict and questions regarding his governance. Despite a public apology in December 2023 for the violence, the leaked audio tapes have further intensified criticism of his leadership.