The para special forces commandos and Assam Rifles have destroyed camps of the insurgent group United Kuki National Army (UKNA) in the jungles of ethnic violence-hit Manipur’s hill district of Churachandpur as part of an ongoing anti-insurgency operation, officials aware of the matter said on Friday. The proscribed group, which is not part of the cessation of hostilities pact with the Union government, has camps within Manipur and also across the border in Myanmar, they added.
Officials said that the commandos and Assam Rifles teams entered the jungles using choppers and that the operation was restricted to Churachandpur. “The joint operation is related to UKNA’s activities to fuel tensions in Manipur and prevent the restoration of normalcy. Many [UKNA] cadres have been involved in firing at houses of internally displaced people [IDP] who have been rehabilitated as part of Phase I of the government’s [resettlement] initiative,” an officer aware of the matter said. The operation started around 9am on Friday, the officer added.
The ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis was triggered in May 2023 and has left at least 260 people dead and displaced 60,000. Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They withdrew to their respective strongholds after the violence began. The ethnic violence has continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel.
{{/usCountry}}The ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis was triggered in May 2023 and has left at least 260 people dead and displaced 60,000. Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They withdrew to their respective strongholds after the violence began. The ethnic violence has continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel.
{{/usCountry}}The government last month started the phased IDP resettlement. Phase I includes those whose houses were partially damaged. Phase 2 will be for families who will be allotted houses under the Union government’s flagship housing programme. Families required to be sent to either the valley or the hills from where they fled during the start of the violence will be covered under Phase 3.
Armed Kuki groups have, over the last month, been involved in at least two instances of firing near places where the IDPs had just been shifted to under Phase I.