State authorities confirmed on Friday that they had received intelligence about movements on their border with Burma. “Nine hundred people have arrived,” said Kuldiep Singh, a security adviser to the local executive, adding that security forces, who had been put on alert, were “patrolling” the area.
The men who entered India were part of an armed group from the Kuki community, trained and equipped with drones, according to local media. But a group of Kuki students on Saturday denied the allegations made by Manipur authorities, describing them as “propaganda”. “We do not need external help to fight the breakaway Metei community,” they added in a statement.
A theater of violence
Since May 2023, Manipur has been the scene of violence between the Hindu-majority Meitei and the predominantly Christian Kuki communities. The two populations, in conflict over control of land and public works, have formed armed militias and erected barricades to deny their opponents access to areas they control.
