Assam Rifles Sets Up Base Along Manipur-Mizoram Border To Protect Locals Displaced By Violence

The Assam Rifles said that the main motive behind establishing a temporary base along the Manipur-Mizoram inter-state border is to provide protection to the internally-displaced people from the violence-hit state.

Guwahati: The Assam Rifles, known as the “Sentinels of the Northeast,” on Friday set up a temporary base along the Manipur-Mizoram inter-state border in its bid to monitor the present situation along with maintaining peace in the bordering area of both neighbouring states in view of the break out of the ethnic clashes in Manipur. After setting up the temporary base, the personnel of the Assam Rifles interacted with the village council representatives and Young Mizo Association (YMA) office-bearers of the Khawdungsei and Khakhawn villages and explained them the importance and necessity of establishing the temporary base near the Tuivai Bridge.

The troopers of the Assam Rifles further elaborated that the main motive behind establishing the temporary base is to provide protection to the internally-displaced people from Manipur and to prevent the movement of Underground Groups (UGs) and transportation of weapons from one place to another.

Temporary Bridge Serves As Lifeline For Violence-Hit Manipur

The engineers and workers of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) were entrusted with the work of repairing the bridge which was in a dilapidated condition.

The temporary bridge that was set up has now turned out to be the lifeline of the people living in southern Manipur, especially in Manipur's Churachandpur district, as all the relief materials from Mizoram are being transported through this route.

After the ethnic violence erupted in the state on May 3, 2023, ferrying essential commodities from one place to another had become an uphill task due to the interference by armed miscreants.  

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports suggest that the Zomi Revolution Army (ZRA), is collecting taxes from the vehicles, carrying relief materials to Manipur’s Churachandpur district.

The ZRA is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in the Churachandpur district of Manipur. It is said that the ZRA is one of the most powerful UG operating in the area.

The Assam Rifles has so far rescued a total of 188 employees of the NHIDCL who were stranded in Manipur’s Sinzawl village due to the ethnic clashes.  

The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.