Imphal/New Delhi:
People from all communities should surrender looted and illegally held weapons and ammunition within seven days, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla said in a statement today.
No punitive action will be taken against anyone who returns such weapons within the deadline, the Governor said; however, strict action will be taken for keeping looted or illegal weapons after the seven-day deadline ends.
The state that shares an open border with Myanmar and where ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki began nearly two years ago, is under the President’s rule.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh and his council of ministers resigned on February 9, after which the Governor placed the assembly in suspended animation, or MLAs active but without powers.
“People of Manipur, both in valley and hills, have suffered immense hardship for the last over 20 months due to a series of unfortunate incidents affecting peace and communal harmony. In the greater interest of restoring normalcy, so that people can return to their normal day-to-day activities, all communities in the state must come forward to ensure cessation of hostilities and maintenance of peace and order in the society,” Governor Bhalla said in the statement.
To restore peace and normalcy in the state, Governor of Manipur, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, has urged the people, especially the youth, to voluntarily surrender looted and illegally held weapons. pic.twitter.com/z3YFhl7NVS
— RAJ BHAVAN MANIPUR (@RajBhavManipur) February 20, 2025
“It is in this regard that I sincerely request the people of all communities, particularly the youths in the valley and hills, to voluntarily come forward and surrender looted and illegally held weapons and ammunition to the nearest police station/outpost/security forces camp within the next seven days, with effect from today,” the Governor said. “Your single act of returning these weapons can be a powerful gesture towards ensuring peace.”
“I want to assure you that no punitive action would be initiated if such weapons are returned within the stipulated time. Thereafter, strict action will be taken for possession of such weapons. The government is committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the situation and safeguarding the future of our youth. Let us rebuild our State together with hope and trust for a brighter future. Come forward and choose peace,” Governor Bhalla said.
Guns In Manipur
An estimated 6,000 firearms were looted from police stations and armouries across Manipur after ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023. Some 4,000 firearms are still missing, sources have said. Some of the recovered firearms include American origin M series assault rifles. Approximately 30 per cent of looted weapons has been recovered so far, police sources said.
“Sophisticated weapons looted from state armouries have made their way into the Manipur ethnic conflict, posing fresh challenges for security agencies,” a Union Home Ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
Many members of the valley-dominant Meitei militia Arambai Tenggol (AT) have been named in cases of police armory lootings.
The AT, however, says it is a cultural organisation compelled to take up arms as village defence volunteers after ineffective law enforcement in the early days of the ethnic violence led to Meitei villages in the foothills coming under attacks from Kuki militants.
Kuki civil society groups have alleged the AT launched attacks on their villages along the inter-district borders after the first wave of clashes in May 2023, which forced the Kuki tribes to take up arms and form village defence forces, trained and armed by militants who had signed a ceasefire of sorts with the Centre and the state.
While both sides call their armed individuals “volunteers”, a similar feature is the weapons they use – AK and M series assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, crude and military grade mortars, high-end sniper rifles, surveillance drones, etc.
The Kuki-Zo tribes have nearly two dozen insurgent groups that come under two umbrella organisations called the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF). The KNO and UPF have signed the controversial Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement whose terms include the insurgents staying at designated camps and their weapons kept in locked storage, to be monitored regularly.
Banned Meitei militant groups such as the PLA, KYKL and KCP that had become nearly extinct in Manipur for the last 10 years also returned from Myanmar after May 2023 and due to the junta’s diminishing hold in areas where the few remaining Meitei militants camped.
The United National Liberation Front (Pambei), or UNLF (P), is the only Meitei militant group that signed a SoO-like ceasefire with the Centre and the state government.
The Governor’s call for surrender of looted and illegally held weapons by people from both warring communities is significant since the state is under the President’s rule. Kuki and Meitei civil society organisations have been asking the Centre to ensure simultaneous disarmament.
“What will be challenging, not that it can’t be done, is for the joint security forces under the President’s rule to guarantee protection from attacks by sneaky militants from either side on Meitei and Kuki civilians and volunteers who have deposited looted firearms. It does not matter whether the militants are under a ceasefire. Anyone who tries to sabotage the road to peace will regret it,” a top central force officer told NDTV on phone from the state capital Imphal, requesting anonymity.
The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 250 have died and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
