A convoy of Manipur Police commandos reached the border Moreh on Tuesday night
Imphal/New Delhi:
A convoy of Manipur Police commandos drove into the India-Myanmar border town Moreh on Tuesday night following the killing of a senior officer by insurgents. The commandos, who were ambushed by insurgents, pressed on and reached the town at midnight.
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The Manipur Police sent the reinforcements to the border town, 115 km from the state capital Imphal, after police officer Chingtham Anand was shot dead by an insurgent sniper while he was overseeing the construction of a helipad.
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A combined force of police commandos and the army’s Assam Rifles were ambushed at two places on the hilly Imphal-Moreh highway while they were going to the border town. Three police commandos were injured in the attack by insurgents.
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Subsequently, despite two ambushes in a single day, the police commandos pressed on towards Moreh and reached the border town by midnight, sources said. Night visuals show a long column of armoured SUVs and other vehicles entering Moreh.
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The Manipur government extended the mobile internet ban till November 5 to prevent law and order issues following the killing of the police officer, whose colleagues said they remember him as a pleasant, cheerful officer who maintained a good rapport with locals.
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The Manipur government in a statement after an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday said a first information report (FIR) has been filed against an organisation called ‘World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council’ (WKZIC) for issuing a statement on October 24 asking “volunteers” in the Kuki-Zo community to take up arms.
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The WKZIC in the statement allegedly said the Kuki National Army and other insurgent groups cannot “join the war” due to the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the centre and the state government, so they needed “volunteers”.
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At least 25 Kuki insurgent groups have signed the SoO agreement, under which they have to stay at designated camps, and keep their weapons in locked storage for regular joint monitoring with the security forces.
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Kuki civil society groups, meanwhile, in statements alleged the ambushes were shoot-outs with village volunteers over alleged indiscriminate use of force by police commandos. The Kuki groups alleged the Manipur government has been pouring in state forces to Moreh to harass civilians and have demanded the centre to withdraw the police from the border town.
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Commandos of the Manipur Police have arrested at least 10 Myanmar nationals in as many days for looting homes of Moreh residents, who left the border town when ethnic clashes broke out on May 3 between the hill-majority Kuki tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis.
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Though the Manipur ethnic violence is said to be over the Meities’ demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes category, many leaders including Union Minister Home Minister Amit Shah and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar have said entry of illegal immigrants is one of the main factors behind the unrest in the northeast state, which is ruled by the BJP.
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