Kuki-Zo groups and MHA reach an understanding on closure of 7 camps close to Meitei areas, says govt. official
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.
'Discussions on ground rules were held on Monday, and an agreement has been reached on certain key changes, which include closure of camps. Making highways fully operational was also stressed upon,' said the government official.
National Highways 2 and 37, which connect the land-locked Meitei-dominated Imphal valley to Nagaland and Assam, respectively, are critical for the supply of essentials and other commodities, pass through Kuki-Zo inhabited areas.
The official said that the next round of talks would be held after 15 days.
Changing terms
An SoO representative said that since the demands from pre-May 3, 2023, had changed, there was a need to revisit the ground rules of the SoO pact.
'We have also proposed certain plans to the MHA, which involve the security forces. The closure of camps is under discussion. When we signed the pact in 2008, a drill was followed to finalise the ground rules; the same process is being followed now,' the representative said.
Around 2,200 cadres of the SoO groups comprising United People's Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO)— umbrella organisations of 25 insurgent groups, live in 14 designated camps in the hill districts of Manipur. The cadres are entitled to a stipend of ₹6,000 per month, which has not been paid since the violence erupted.
The SoO agreement was signed in the wake of the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, when hundreds were killed. The insurgent groups demanded an independent land for the Kuki-Zo people.
Earlier, the groups had demanded autonomy for Kuki-Zo councils in Manipur. Post-May 2023, they have been demanding a Union Territory with a Legislative Assembly for the Kuki-Zo areas.
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