'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
A Manipur Police commando and two police constables were killed while nine others were injured when militants ambushed road-opening parties at two different places in Chandel district of Manipur on Thursday.
People who had fled from the villages located close to the site of June 4 ambush on Armymen in Manipur's Chandel district have started to return home.
It was not yet known whether Manipur's Agriculture Minister K Ranjit and Deputy Inspector General of Police Jathang were injured in the attack that took place at Tingkhanphai in Chandel district.
'You cannot 'clear' your way to peace.' 'You need intelligence, calibrated force, impartial law enforcement, political neutrality, humanitarian returns and a sustained reconciliation plan.'
The insurgents first set off a powerful bomb by using a remote-controlled device and then opened fire at the team led by executive engineer Milan Singh when they reached a place between Khudengthabi and Kwatha Lamkhai, about 110 km south east of Imphal at around 7.45 am, the sources said.
The use of drones to mount attacks was new to the ethnic clashes in Manipur that left over 200 people dead since May last year.
The agreement was reached between the warring sides at a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam's Cachar on Thursday. The meeting was moderated by Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, officials said.
The Congress claimed that not inviting the Manipur CM to the meeting violated Schedule 7 of the Constitution.
Insurgents struck on New Year's eve, killing the top man in the state's intelligence set-up
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, 43, a resident of Bihar.
An abandoned house in Lalpani village was torched by armed men on Friday night, they said.
At least 18 army personnel were killed and 11 injured on Thursday when an insurgent group ambushed their patrol in Chandel district of Manipur.
A Junior Commissioned Officer and five jawans of Assam Rifles were on Sunday killed in an ambush by militants in Chandel district of Manipur near the Indo-Myanmar border.
An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and three others were seriously injured when insurgents ambushed a paramilitary force party at Lambisa in Manipur's Ukhrul district on Saturday.
At least 13 people were killed in a gun-battle between two groups of militants in Manipur's Tengnoupal district on Monday, officials said.
One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA was extended by another six months in Manipur on Wednesday barring 19 police stations falling under the Imphal valley and an area that shares its boundary with neighbouring Assam.
According to reports, Zaw Htay, director of Myanmar's presidential office, said that, as per the information sent by Myanmar army's local battalions, the military operation by the Indian Army was carried out on the Indian side of the border.
Major Khathing was the first man to hoist the Indian flag in Tawang. He also brought Bum La under Indian control.
Just a day after an agreement was signed between Hmar and Meitei representatives to restore peace in ethnic violence-hit Jiribam district of Manipur, the apex body of the Hmar community said that the pact stood 'null and void'.
The shootout occurred at a place between Haraothel and Kobsha villages though the police are not yet sure about how it began.
Terming such 'unwarranted interference' detrimental to the timely response by security forces, the Army's Spears Corps shared a video on Twitter late on Monday of some such incidents.
Security forces fired several rounds in the air to disperse the mob, officials said.
"Keeping in view the sensitivity of the use of kinetic force against a large irate mob and envisaged casualties due to such action, the officer on the ground made a considerate decision to hand over all 12 cadres to the local leader. Own columns lifted the cordon and left the area with weapons and war-like stores, recovered from insurgents," it read.
Terrorists belonging to banned groups United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and People's Liberation Army (PLA) were allegedly part of the mob from which gunshots were fired at an army officer that left him severely injured in Manipur, officials said Monday.
Cries of 'Jai Hind' rent the air as a large number of people bid a final adieu to Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and five-year-old son, who were killed in a terrorist attack in Manipur two days ago, in their hometown Raigarh in Chhattisgarh on Monday.
A large number of women from Malom in Imphal West district blocked the road to the airport in protest against the killing of the policemen in Moreh.
Quoting data collected from various sources, officials closely monitoring the situation here said that .303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMG) and AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMG), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles were reported to be missing from the armouries of the police in May.
A massive combing operation was underway on Friday to track down insurgents in areas of Chandel district of Manipur where 18 army jawans were killed and 11 others injured in an ambush on Thursday.
Over seven months of violence severely hit businesses, schools, colleges and other institutions, besides disrupting transportation and communication networks. It also affected the agrarian sector, considered the mainstay of the state economy.
Rediff.com gives you a lowdown on the NSCN-K.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said the people of his state, including himself, want the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act but only after mutual understanding with the Centre as national security is their top priority.
A leading Kuki-Zo organisation in Manipur has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of 10 youths in a gunfight with the CRPF, raising questions about the paramilitary force's neutrality. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) also reiterated its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community in the state, where ethnic violence between Kuki tribals and Meiteis has claimed over 250 lives since May last year. The ITLF claimed the post-mortem reports showed the youths were shot from the back, suggesting they were not engaged in a gunfight when they were killed. The organisation further alleged that CRPF personnel stationed nearby refused to intervene during an attack on Zairawn village, where a woman was killed. The ITLF has called for a political solution to the ongoing conflict, urging the Union Home Minister to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people.
President Droupadi Murmu has approved gallantry awards to 93 armed forces personnel, including two Kirti Chakras and 14 Shaurya Chakras, on the eve of Republic Day. The Kirti Chakras, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, have been awarded to Major Manjit from 22 Rashtriya Rifles and posthumously to Naik Dilwar Khan, 28 Rashtriya Rifles. The president also approved 305 defense decorations to Armed Forces and other personnel.
Eight personnel of the 21 Para Regiment, which had undertaken a daring operation just inside Myanmar territory following the Manipur ambush, were among 67 for whom President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday approved Gallantry awards.
The area was a theatre of violence for several years since Naga-Kuki ethnic clash broke out in 1993 and the civilian Kuki tribe population suffered severely in that war zone.
The fulcrum of victory or defeat of parties attempting to form a government is held by smaller players and those willing to defect.
The probe into the killing of 18 Army men in Manipur has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency.
Besides law and order, the long standing demand for junking Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, economic woes of the land-locked state which has hardly any industries, are expected to figure high on the agenda of the unfolding electoral battle between the two main parties with smaller local parties such as National People's Party and the Naga People's Front chipping in with their own demands.
