Maroc - EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 16/Sep 22:44

India: New Dimensions Of Violence In Manipur – Analysis

By Priyanka Devi Kshetrimayum On September 8, 2024, a woman, identified as Nemjakhol Lhungdim (46), was killed when two groups of militants exchanged fire at Thangbuh village near Laimaton in Kangpokpi District. On September 7, 2024, five persons were killed in firing between Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) and United National Liberation Front-Pambei (UNLF-P) at the Tea Estate of Rashidpur Part-II in Jiribam District. The killed were identified as KLA cadres Seiminlen Khongsai, Haogoulen Doungel and Nehboithang Haokip, all residents of Churachandpur District; UNLF-P cadre Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma, a resident of Dibong Khunou, Jiribam District; and Kuki village volunteer Lhunkhohao Haokip, a resident of Mongbung Sejang, Jairolpokpi, Jiribam. In another incident, on the same day, one Meitei person, identified as Yurembam Kulendra Singha (63), was shot dead by suspected Kuki militants in the Nungchepi area of Jiribam District. According to initial reports, suspected Kuki militants entered the house of the victim while he was sleeping and fatally shot him. On September 6, 2024, a Meitei man, identified as R. K. Rabei (80) was killed and five others injured in a suspected rocket attack at the house of Manipur‘s first Chief Minister (CM), M. Korieng Singh, at Moirang in Bishnupur District. The rocket, believed to have been fired from the Churachandpur side, completely destroyed the statue of the first CM. The rocket was 23.8 kg in weight, five centimetres in thickness and nine feet in length. In another incident of the same day, militants launched a rocket attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur District, damaging two structures. According to Police, rockets were fired from Churachandpur district’s hill areas, with a range of over three kilometres. On September 2, 2024, three people were injured in a drone attack at Senjam Chirang in Imphal West District. On September 2, 2024, three sophisticated service weapons were looted by unidentified armed 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. On September 1, 2024, two people were killed and nine others injured in a drone attack in Koutruk, Kadangband and Singda areas of Imphal West District, contiguous to Kangpokpi District. The drone came from the neighbouring hills. Imphal West is inhabited by the Meiteis and Kangpokpi is home to the Kuki community. According to partial data compiled by theSouth Asian Terrorism Portal(SATP), there have been a total of 58 fatalities (36 civilians, five Security Force, SF, personnel, and 17 terrorists) in insurgency-related incidents in the current year (data till September 15, 2024). During the corresponding period of 2023, the number of such fatalities was at 133 (66 civilians, 13 SF personnel, 53 terrorists and one Not Specified, NS). The whole of 2023 had recorded 163 fatalities (72 civilians, 17 SF personnel, 73 terrorists and one NS). Notably, Manipur in 2022 recorded an all-time low of seven fatalities (five civilians, one SF trooper and one terrorist), same as in 2020, which had recorded seven fatalities (one civilian, three SF personnel and three terrorists). The dramatic surge in fatalities, as noted bySAIRearlier, is due to the emergence of clashes between two ethnic communities, the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo, in Manipur in May 2023. The conflict which started on May 3, 2023, and still going on, has so far claimed at least 217 lives (107 civilians, 22 SF personnel, 87 terrorists, one NS). Of the total 217 fatalities, the valley Districts - Bishnupur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Jiribam, Kakching and Thoubal - have accounted for 114 fatalities (65 civilians, 10 SF personnel, 39 terrorists), and the hill Districts - Chandel, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Pherzawl, Senapati Tamenglong, Tengnoupal and Ukhrul – have accounted for 91 fatalities (34 civilians, 10 SF personnel, 46 terrorists, one NS). The exact locations of killings of the remaining 12 fatalities are not known. More worrying is the addition of new dimensions in the violence very recently. As mentioned above, terrorists have started using drones to drop bomb and rockets that can travel up to five to seven kilometres. According to intelligence inputs, a factory-like setup where these drone and rockets are being manufactured near the Myanmar border has been identified, which SFs suspect to be the base of the attacks in Manipur at the beginning of September 2024. Security establishment sources also added that the drones and the rockets used in the attack are not military-grade and that the drones used to drop bombs are commercially available ones and the rockets are locally assembled. One possible reason for drone attacks was given by a Government source, stating, "A large number of civilians in the valley and the hills have guns. Since armed people in the hills were finding it difficult to come close to the buffer zones as shoot-at-sight orders are in place, they used drones to drop the ammunition on Meitei villages." Manipur Police in a statement have said, "Without the involvement of highly trained individuals with technical expertise and support, such attacks can't be executed." Meanwhile, in response to such attacks, the Central Government approved the use of anti-drone guns, Dronaam, by paramilitary forces deployed in Manipur. Meanwhile, Manipur CM N Biren Singh on August 24, 2024, stated, "Some militant groups under Suspension of Operations (SoO) have already violated the ground rules and disrupted peace and tranquility in Manipur. We are keen to expel these militant groups from the agreement, but no official update has been received from the Centre yet. However, we have received information that the central government is discussing the matter." Concerning the matter, the Manipur State Assembly on February 29, 2024, adopted a resolution to abrogate the agreement, for violation of the ground rules of the agreement by the Kuki militants. Notably, SoO agreements were signed with a total of 25 Kuki outfits in Manipur in 2008. The Union Government and Manipur Government were part of the agreement. Earlier, on March 10, 2023, the Manipur government had decided to withdraw from the SoO agreement with two of the Kuki militant groups - Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA). The remaining 23 Kuki groups, which had simultaneously entered into SoO agreements in August 2008, remain under these agreements. However, the ‘spokesperson’ of Kuki National Organisation (KNO), Seilen Haokip in an interview withThe Hindupublished on August 26, 2024, said that Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), is yet to convey the list of ground rules violations committed by the Kuki-Zo militant groups and that the Central Government is putting forth a new procedure to address the allegations of ground rules violations. He also claimed that while Union Home Minister Amit Shah wants “SoO for peace”, Manipur Government is wanting unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and is acting against peace. Amid the contradictory stand in the SoO agreement between Manipur Government and the Kuki-Zo militants, the nature of violence and attack in the ongoing ethnic conflict between Meitei and Kuki-Zo is escalating and churning to a point where sophisticated arms are employed in targeted killings. The use of drones for targeted killings of civilians invites ethical or moral aspects. In a significant event, the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) adopted the Delhi Declaration on October 29, 2022, to counter the new and emerging technologies, including the abuse of drones for terrorist purposes. The harness of emerging technology including drones by alleged Kuki militants poses a serious threat exposing a vulnerability to civilians. Such adoption of drones/rockets to drop bombs as a means to continue the brunt of the conflict is a paradigm shift to the manoeuvre or activities of militant outfits in Manipur. Priyanka Devi KshetrimayumResearch Associate, Institute for Conflict Management