Death Toll Rises to 98 and 310 Injured in Month-Long Ethnic Violence in Manipur

The death toll in the ethnic violence that has been erupting in Manipur for over a month has risen to 98, with 310 people injured. In response, 144 sophisticated arms have been surrendered after Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the public to surrender their weapons. The Chief Security Advisor to Manipur government, Kuldiep Singh, has stated that 65 people have been arrested, whilst 3,734 FIRs have been registered. Additionally, 4,014 cases of arson have been reported. No major incidents have been reported in the last 24 hours but there have been a few incidents of firing, which have been dealt with by the security forces. Shah has urged all those in possession of weapons to surrender them to the security forces, or legal action will be taken against them.
The security forces have launched intelligence information-based combing operations across Manipur to ensure sustainable peace. Large scale combing operations to recover snatched weapons are being put in place, along with surprise checks of the designated camps Kuki militants. An Inter-Security agency unified command will be formed, which will be headed by a Chief Security Adviser and will impartially conduct all security operations.
The cause of ethnic violence in Manipur began after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organized in 11 hill districts by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Tensions were high due to the eviction of Kuki villagers by the state government from reserve forest land. This event led to a series of smaller agitations in four districts of Manipur over time.