A Kuki organisation ended an indefinite counter-inter-district economic blockade and shutdown of the National Highway (NH) 202 connecting ethnic violence-hit Manipur with neighbouring Nagaland in Ukhrul following a meeting with the state government representatives on Tuesday.
The Working Committee of the Kuki Civil Society Organisation said the counter-blockade was lifted effective from 4.30pm on Tuesday after a meeting with state home minister Govindas Konthoujam and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Thokchom Radheshyam in Ukhrul. The committee said a handwritten agreement was signed with the government delegation, under which it agreed to ensure the safety and security of NH-202 and prevent any group from imposing blockades or disrupting traffic along the vital highway.
The assurances included the “free and non-discriminatory” movement of essential commodities, a key demand amid concerns over restrictions on supplies and movement.
The Kuki body launched a counter-economic blockade on July 27 in retaliation for a Naga group’s inter-district economic blockade on all national highways in Manipur. The counter-blockade intensified the shutdown from August 5.
The Naga group imposed the blockade demanding justice for six Nagas whose mutilated bodies were found on June 10 after Kuki groups allegedly abducted them on May 13.
{{/usCountry}}The Naga group imposed the blockade demanding justice for six Nagas whose mutilated bodies were found on June 10 after Kuki groups allegedly abducted them on May 13.
{{/usCountry}}There was no word from the United Naga Council on lifting its ongoing economic blockade.
Naga and Kuki-Zo tensions escalated after May 13 twin ambushes left four people, including three church leaders, dead. On the same day, Kuki-Zo and Naga groups captured 48 people. On May 15, 14 captives each from the two communities were released. The remaining 14 Kuki-Zo hostages were freed unharmed on June 9. Mutilated bodies of the six Nagas were found the next day.
The ethnic violence in Manipur first began in 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out of the areas they dominate.
The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the Imphal valley. The Kukis, predominantly Christian, reside in the hills. The state government has maintained that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but it has identified certain sensitive areas.
A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance. But sporadic violence has continued and has left over 260 people dead and displaced 60,000.