Security forces in Manipur arrested nine militants from banned insurgent groups in a 24-hour blitz across five districts—Imphal East, Imphal West, Churachandpur, Thoubal, and Bishnupur—officials confirmed on Saturday.

The operation, targeting members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Chin Kuki National Defence Force (CKNDF), and United National Liberation Front (UNLF), marks a significant escalation in the state’s counter-insurgency efforts amid ongoing ethnic violence.

The arrested militants face charges of abduction, extortion, and threatening contractors, traders, government employees, and civilians.

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Among them, Thongkhohou Touthang, 34, a CKNDF operative, was identified as a key figure in recruiting youths for armed insurgency and facilitating cross-border arms and cadre movement along Manipur’s 398-km unfenced border with Myanmar. Touthang’s activities included extorting money under the CKNDF’s banner, with a mobile phone and SIM card seized from him.

Security forces recovered arms, ammunition, Aadhaar cards, incriminating documents, and other materials from the militants.

The arrests bring the total to 38 insurgents apprehended over the past four days, reflecting intensified operations in response to Manipur’s volatile security landscape, where over 260 people have died since ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups erupted in May 2023.

Ongoing searches in Imphal East, Kakching, and Senapati have yielded additional weapons, as forces aim to curb militancy exploiting the porous, mountainous Myanmar border. The Border Road Organisation’s fencing efforts, initiated last year, seek to address these challenges, but cross-border incidents remain a persistent threat.

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