India: Unending Disruptions In Manipur – Analysis

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By Priyanka Devi Kshetrimayum

On January 14, 2025, suspected militants dropped two bombs from a drone hovering over the 5 Manipur Rifles camp under the Lamsang Police Station area in Imphal West District. The bombs exploded near a bunker in the camp, but no casualties were reported.

On January 13, a United National Liberation Front-Koireng (UNLF-Koireng) statement claimed responsibility for the shooting of an alleged rapist, Khaidem Nongdam Khanganba (30), at an unidentified location in Manipur, for a rape incident that occurred on January 10. The outfit’s ‘secretary of publicity’, M. Shak-Hen, claimed that the accused was punished after an ‘in-depth investigation’ as per the victim’s complaint. Khanganba was injured in the shooting. 

These are the two violent incidents reported in 2025, thus far (data till January 19). 

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 87 persons, including 51 civilians, six Security Force (SF) personnel and 30 terrorists, were killed in insurgency-related incidents in 2024. During 2023, the number of such fatalities had stood at 157 (66 civilians, 17 SF personnel, 73 terrorists and one Not Specified, NS). There were seven fatalities (five civilians, one SF trooper and one terrorist) in 2022, 27 fatalities in 2021 (eight civilians, five SF troopers and 14 terrorists), seven fatalities in 2020 (one civilian, three SF troopers and three terrorists), nine fatalities in 2019 (four civilians and five terrorists), 23 in 2018 (seven civilians, seven SF trooper and nine terrorists), 55 in 2017 (23 civilians, nine SF personnel, 22 terrorists and one NS), 36 in 2016 (14 civilians, 13 SF personnel and nine terrorists) and 97 in 2015 (18 civilians, 24 SF personnel, 14 terrorists and three NS).

Though overall fatalities in 2024 came down by 44.58 per cent as compared to 2023, the numbers were still very high for a state which had been well on the path of establishing near normalcy prior to 2023. As SAIR had noted earlier,the sudden spike commenced after the outbreak of ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities, first in the Churachandpur District of the State on May 3, 2023. The clashes spread rapidly across the state and continue till date, though the intensity has come down. 

Moreover, the overall fatalities in 2024 fell as compared to 2023, substantially because of fall in terrorist fatalities by 58.9 per cent. The state also witnessed drastic changes in the activities of the militants and different implications of the ethnic strife which started in May 3, 2023. One such change was the increasing use of drones for targeted killings. Apart from the January 14, 2025, incident mentioned above, four drone incidents were reported in 2024. The first known drone bomb attack was on September 1, 2024, where two people were killed and nine were injured in a drone attack in the Koutruk, Kadangband and Singda areas of Imphal West District, contiguous to Kangpokpi District. The other three drone incidents included: 

  • September 2: Three people were injured in a bomb attack using drones in Senjam Chirang Maning Leikai in Imphal West District. 
  • September 2: Three sophisticated service weapons were looted by unidentified armed miscreants from Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel after launching an attack accompanied by mortar and drone bombings in Meikhang village under the jurisdiction of the Lamlai Police Station in Imphal East District.
  • October 30: Kuki Militants launched an attack with drone bombings at Kadangband in Imphal West District. The bomb dropped by the drone struck the north side of the residence of Okram Hardash (35) from Kadangband Part-2, Mayai Leikai, under the Lamshang Police Station area in Imphal West District. However, there were no casualties. Eyewitnesses to the incident claimed to have sighted a drone shortly after the sound of the explosion. 

In the midst of the unresolved conflict between Meitei and the Kuki/Zo disrupting normal activities, the Meitei-dominated Valley districts witnessed a surge in abductions and extortion as well. Inputs from State Police sources indicate that most weapons looted from armouries during the conflict were being used by insurgent groups in the Valley to threaten traders and government employees for money. Meanwhile, on November 22, 2024, Manipur Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh said that 3,000 of around 6,000 looted weapons have been recovered. 

With rising disruption in the valley region, on November 14, 2024, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) re-imposed the Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the jurisdiction of six Police Stations in the Valley areas of Manipur. The Disturbed Areas status, which was in place in all of Manipur, excluding19 Police Stations in the Meitei-dominated Valley, from where it had been withdrawn between April 2022 and April 2023, has now been extended to the jurisdictions of Sekmai and Lamsang Police Stations in Imphal West District, Lamlai in Imphal East District, Moirang in Bishnupur District, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi District and Jiribam Police Station in Jiribam District.

In a security review meeting on January 4, 2025, with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, an unnamed Government official stated that Yaingangpokpi (YKPI) in Imphal East, a buffer zone between the Valley and hills, has become the latest flashpoint of violence in Manipur. The area witnessed at least 50 incidents of firing since December 24, 2024. The camps of Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and United National Liberation Front (UNLF) are located on the periphery of YKPI.

Meanwhile, the rivalry amongst different insurgent outfits, significantly between Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) continued. Some of the incidents involving ZUF, NSCN-IM and Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) in 2024 are:

  • December 1: A gunfight broke out between ZUF and NSCN-IM at Longsai (Nungsai) Chingkao Part I under the Khoupum Police Station in Noney District. No casualties were reported.
  • November 28: A gunfight took place between cadres of ZUF and the NSCN-IM in the inter-village areas of Sangji and Dollang, under Khoupum Police Station in Noney District. No casualties were reported.
  • June 15: A ‘captain’ of the NSCN-IM, R.S. Winson, was ambushed and killed by the KNA-B near the Indo-Myanmar border in Ango Ching, across the Tengnoupal District.
  • April 11: A suspected ZUF cadre, Alur Chiru (48), was killed in captivity by suspected NSCN-IM cadres at Chuwangphu Nungang Village under the jurisdiction of the New Keithelmanbi Police Station in Kangpokpi District. Alur Chiru was ZUF’s ‘joint secretary’. 
  • March 11: An exchange of fire took place between cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF near Zeikulong village in Churachandpur District. The clash resulted in minor injuries to two militants.

Meanwhile, there have been co-ordinated efforts by the SFs to control the possible fallout of militant activities. According to partial data compiled by SATP, seven militants have been arrested in 2025 (data till January 19). 376 militants were arrested in 2024 in comparison to 191 militants in 2023. The arrested militants in 2024 belonged to Kangleipak Communist Party – People’s War Group (KCP-PWG), 87; Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), 48; People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), 22; People’s Liberation Army (PLA), 21; PREPAK-Progressive (PREPAK-Pro) and KCP-Nongdrenkhomba, 19 each; KCP-Taibanganba (KCP-T), 17; UNLF-Pambei, 14; UNLF and KCP-Noyon, 12 each; Socialist Revolution Party Kangleipak (SOREPA) and UNLF-Koireng, eight each; KCP-Military Council (KCP-MC) and KCP, six each; KCP-Apunba City Meitei (KCP-ACM) and United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK), five each; Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) and Kuki National Front (KNF), four each; KCP-City Meitei, KCP-Lamyanba Khuman and KCP-Miyamgi Fingang Lanmi (KCP-MFL), three each; KCP-Military Council Progressive (KCP-MCP), PREPAK (Red Army), and National Revolutionary Front of Manipur (NRFM), two each; and one each from the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF), Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF), KNA, UNLF-Ningon Macha group and Kuki National Front-Military Council (KNF-MC). In one incident five militants affiliated with KYKL, PREPAK and NSCN-IM were arrested. The group identities of 33 militants were not available. 

Significantly, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) ramped up action to bring down militant activities in Manipur. Some of the steps taken up by NIA in 2024 were: 

November 29: NIA filed a charge sheet against Lunminsei Kipgen alias Langinmang alias Mang alias Levi (35), a Kuki militant from Mamong village in Churachandpur District, in connection with the killing of four civilians on January 18, 2024, by a group of Kuki militants, including Kipgen in Ningthoukhong. The NIA investigation revealed that Kipgen, who was previously a cadre of KNF-President (KNF-P), had joined another Kuki militant organisation, United Kuki National Army (UKNA), and was involved in the attack. He was subsequently arrested by Assam Police on March 20, 2024.

October 28: NIA formally arrested a cadre of KNF-MC, identified as Thongminthang Haokip alias Thangboi Haokip alias Roger (38), in connection with the killing of two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans in Naranseina in Bishnupur District. Thongminthang was lodged in District Jail, Rohini, New Delhi. He was also in contact with KNF-B in Myanmar, seeking logistics support to escalate the volatility in Manipur and create terror. NIA investigations further revealed that Roger had meetings with leaders of the People’s Defense Force (PDF)/KNF-B to procure arms, ammunition, and explosives for use in the ongoing violence in Manipur.

April 12: NIA charge sheeted two accused, including the main conspirator identified as Seiminlun Gangte alias Minlun and another accused identified as Mohammad Noor Hussain alias Tomba alias Mohammad Nur Hasan, in the June 2023 Kwatka (Manipur) vehicle borne improvised explosive device (IED) blast case, in which three persons were injured and several public and private properties were damaged. 

March 13: NIA arrested three cadres of the UNLF-P, including the outfit’s ‘army chief’ identified as Thokchom Thoiba alias Sidabamapu and ‘chief intelligence in-charge’ identified as Laimayum Ingba in Imphal West District.

Despite the efforts from SFs and central intelligence agencies to control the security situation in Manipur, the trust between civilians and the armed forces has broken down. The recent attack on January 3, 2025, by Kuki protestors on the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Kangpokpi district over the demand for the withdrawal of SFs deployed at Saibol village (Uyok Ching) by the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), was one case in point, among several. 

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla while assessing the state’s overall security situation on January 4, 2025, directed the state’s Director General of Police to put the safety and security of the population first, and called on the Army and paramilitary officers to fully assist the government in upholding law and order in the state. He also suggested that the State police use legal options such as the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, which provides detention for a year without trial, against miscreants and troublemakers in the state. 

The volatile situation of the state is the failure of the representatives of Meitei and Kuki/Zo to reach a negotiation point in addressing the crisis. 10 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Kuki/Zo have long been demanding the removal of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, on the grounds that, on several occasions, the state government under Biren Singh had a one-sided approach favouring the Meitei community, while suppressing and curtailing the rights of the disadvantaged tribal community. On December 10, 2024, they submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister stating,

Apart from the prolonged and chronic discrimination towards the hill districts in matters of development by the successive Meitei majoritarian state governments, it is sad to see the discrimination being worsened in this time of the conflict for the last 19 months.

In response, Biren Singh claimed, on the occasion of Nupi Lal commemoration on December 12, 2024, “the state and central governments have been putting all efforts to bring a permanent solution. However, bringing a solution would take time as the situation had become chronic and fragile.” 

SFs in Manipur are striving to curb militant activities that escalated significantly following the ethnic conflict that commenced on May 3, 2023. However, these efforts are hobbled by a sense of mistrust that has emerged among the public towards the government and SFs. There is an urgent need for actions by SFs to foster a conducive environment while engaging with the civilians. Meanwhile, the militants’ disruptive actions through extortion, abduction, and acts of terrorism continue to instil fear and anxiety among the population. Both the state and central Government have failed to ensure accountability and to take effective action to resolve the current ethnic violence in Manipur.

  • Priyanka Devi Kshetrimayum
    Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

SATP

SATP, or the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) publishes the South Asia Intelligence Review, and is a product of The Institute for Conflict Management, a non-Profit Society set up in 1997 in New Delhi, and which is committed to the continuous evaluation and resolution of problems of internal security in South Asia. The Institute was set up on the initiative of, and is presently headed by, its President, Mr. K.P.S. Gill, IPS (Retd).

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