Manipur violence: Over 120 dead; 70k individuals displaced across Northeast

Amidst escalating violence and unrest in Manipur, a devastating toll emerges which shows over 120 lives lost and a staggering 70,000 individuals displaced across Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, and Meghalaya. As per the Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) Suhas Chakma, over 70,000 people have been displaced including 50,698 persons in relief camps in Manipur, over 12,000 persons who fled to Mizoram, 3,000 persons who fled to Assam, and over 1,000 people who fled to Meghalaya while thousands of the displaced have not sought shelter in relief camps. However he revealed that the Kukis who have fled to other States have been facing opposition to settlement from local groups such as in Meghalaya.

"With little improvement of the situation in Manipur as reflected from the killing of 10 persons on 2 July, there is little possibility for the return of the majority displaced persons to their original homes,” said Suhas Chakma.

“The destabilisation of the North East’s regional peace and security by the riots in Manipur is unprecedented in the history of the North East as the arming of over 3,000 civilians with alleged looting of over 4,000 weapons and five lakhs (5,00,000) ammunitions,” Chakma added.


There has not been any accountability for looting of the arms and arming of the civilians, failure to enforce the Suspension of Operations agreements with 23 Underground outfits since August 2008 and failure to bring the situation under control despite the imposition of Article 355 of the Constitution on 6 May 2023.

The RRAG warned about the failure to bring the situation under control after the imposition of Article 355 of the Constitution on 6 May calls for the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution to provide a government that is perceived as neutral.

"The current arrangement of Chief Minister Biren Singh supervising the security situation in the valley and the Ministry of Home Affairs supervising the situation in the hills only cements the division. The involvement of the insurgent groups of the Meiteis and the Kukis in the riots has the potential to spread the insurgency across the North Eastern region and destabilise the region,” RRAG stated.

The RRAG recommended bringing the situation under control by imposing President’s rule, providing fresh impetus to the peace process headed by the Governor, and ensuring effective rehabilitation and resettlement of the displaced persons to their original places of inhabitants with safety and security.