Guwahati: The tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) peace agreement that existed between the Centre, Manipur govt and 25 Kuki-Zo militant outfits under two umbrella groups for 18 years has not been extended since its lapse last month.“The SoO agreement expired on Sept 4. I should say that there is no SoO agreement existing in the state now,” Manipur home minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh said on Friday.There are 17 outfits with a combined strength of about 1,100 under Kuki National Organisation (KNO), while another 1,000 cadres belong to eight outfits under United People’s Front (UPF).With the pact no longer in force, more than 2,000 cadres are not bound by its ground rules, including confinement to designated camps. This has raised concerns because some of the groups have been alleged to be involved in the ongoing ethnic conflict.It was not immediately known whether their weapons remained locked in camp armouries, as required under the ground rules, or how many cadres were still in the designated camps. With the agreement having lapsed, the suspension of security operations against the groups has also ended, allowing security forces to act against them.“With no SoO, violation of the ground rules does not arise. That is what I assume,” Govindas said.He said the state and central govts were concerned about public sentiment against extending the SoO agreement.Govindas said security forces found only 18 cadres when they raided one of the designated camps, known as Senai camp, on Oct 20.“All cadres are supposed to be in the camp if the SoO exists. But only 18 people were there, and only one of them identified himself as a SoO cadre of the KNF. The other 17 were taken into police custody. They will be formally arrested today and interrogated to establish which organisations they belong to,” Govindas said.The Senai camp, located near the border of Imphal East district, housed about 150 cadres of Kuki National Army and Kuki Liberation Army. Govindas said efforts were under way to trace the missing cadres and that the Centre had been informed.The Centre and the state govt signed the SoO agreement with KNO and UPF in 2008. The agreement has since been extended periodically.The last extension was signed on Sept 4 last year for 12 months, with renegotiated ground rules that reiterated Manipur’s territorial integrity and the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the state.Under the revised rules, KNO and UPF also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from conflict-prone areas, reduce the number of camps, shift weapons to the nearest CRPF or BSF camps, and allow strict physical verification of cadres by security forces to identify and de-list foreign nationals, if any.Police on Tuesday arrested three Kuki men in connection with the recent killing of three Meitei woodcutters. Police said two of them had admitted to their involvement. The police later posted on social media that the three were cadres of KNF (N), a non-SoO group, but deleted the post after some time.Asked by the media why the post was deleted, Govindas said the accused could not be declared guilty before the investigation was completed.“They are being thoroughly investigated. The details will emerge within two or three days,” Govindas said.On the demand for combing operations by people, Govindas said joint security forces were conducting operations wherever necessary and would continue efforts to restore normalcy in the state.He said operations would be carried out in areas dominated by any community, irrespective of ethnic affiliation.The ethnic conflict that erupted in Manipur in May 2023 between the valley-based Meitei and hill-based Kuki communities has claimed at least 306 lives, while 49 people remain missing and thousands have been left homeless. Since Feb this year, clashes between Kuki and Naga communities have claimed more than 55 lives.
