Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials, in a meeting on Monday (June 16, 2025), reached an understanding on the relocation and closure of certain camps run by the groups in Manipur, a senior government official said. The MHA stressed on recovery of looted weapons and the opening of the national highways, the official added.
Security agencies have proposed the closure of seven out of 14 existing camps, which are located close to Meitei-populated areas in the foothills.
The insurgent groups in the Suspensions of Operations (SoO) pact with the government resumed talks with the MHA on June 9, after a gap of two years.
The official said that no deadline was fixed for the extension of the SoO pact with the Kuki-Zo groups as it depended on adherence to ground rules and other conditions. The pact became ineffective on February 29, 2024, when the Manipur government pulled out from the tripartite agreement, MHA and SoO groups being the other two signatories.
After ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people erupted in the State on May 3, 2023, former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and several Meitei groups accused the armed insurgent groups of instigating the violence.
