Manipur SoO Pact faces uncertainty ahead of polls

Guwahati: As many as 2,266 cadres of militant outfits covered under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement are staying in different designated camps across Manipur's hill regions. However, their future remains uncertain.

The SoO agreement between the government, the United People's Front and the Kuki National Organisation, a conglomerate of 23 underground outfits, was signed on August 22, 2008. The agreement, which is renewed annually, expired in September this year. The state's majority Meitei community, however, has been opposing any extension of the SoO agreement with Kuki militant outfits. The tripartite SoO agreement with Kuki-Zo militant groups was extended on September 4, 2025. Naga groups, too, have opposed the presence of some designated camps in their vicinity and have sought their relocation.

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Manipur is scheduled to hold assembly elections early next year, and the extension of the SoO agreement has emerged as an electoral issue. Meitei and Naga groups have alleged that several SoO cadres have played a role in the ongoing conflict in Manipur.

On several occasions, these groups have accused SoO cadres of violating the terms of the agreement and being involved in killings and abductions of people from the Meitei and Naga communities.

Manipur CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh visited Sinai Camp, a designated camp for SoO militants in Kangpokpi district, on October 25. The Sinai camp was disarmed and taken over by the CRPF following joint operations conducted by the CRPF's CoBRA unit, Manipur Police and other security agencies. Manipur home minister Govindas Konthoujam had recently said that both the state and central governments were concerned about public sentiment against the extension of the agreement.

At least 306 people have been killed and 49 remain missing in the ethnic violence that has gripped Manipur since May 2023, state home minister Govindas Konthoujam told the assembly on September 3, 2026. More than 60,000 people have been displaced since ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. The violence erupted after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.