‘We thought peace was coming’: Manipur’s buffer zones are back in grip of violence

Till a few months ago, he was patrolling Meitei villages near Manipur’s Moirang town.

The 43-year-old had taken up arms and joined a cadre of 250 “village volunteers” – armed civilians who “defended” their community’s territory as the conflict that erupted in Manipur in May 2023 ethnically partitioned the state, with no community allowed to travel into the other’s area.

The clashes between the majority Meiteis, who lived in the plains, and the minority tribal group of Kuki-Zo-Hmars from the hill districts plunged Manipur into a civil war, from which it is yet to recover. Over 260 people were killed and more than 60,000 displaced in the conflict.

“I have been guarding villages here since 2023,” the Meitei volunteer said.

But six months ago, after a spell of President’s rule and the recovery of arms from civilians, the violence ebbed.

The 43-year-old and other village volunteers surrendered arms and disbanded. “The government said the central security forces will give full protection to us,” he told Scroll.

“We thought that peace was coming,” agreed Ibotombi, a 60-year-old college teacher from Tronglaobi village in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, one of many villages the Meitei volunteers had guarded. “Even the village volunteers have stopped guarding the village.”

But in the early hours of April 7, the fragile calm...

Read more