Imphal, Apr 9 (PTI) Suspected Kuki Independent Army (KIA) militants looted arms and ammunition from a Suspension of Operation (SoO) designated camp in Manipur’s Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar, police said on Sunday.
The SoO camp is a place where cadres of militant outfits with which the government has signed a suspension of operation stay.
The KIA militants “overpowered” those present in the Horep designated SoO camp under Henglep sub-division of the district at around 1 am and looted large number of sophisticated arms and weapons including explosives, a police officer told PTI.
“Wide scale combing operations launched in routes along which the militants might have fled but no arrest has been made,” the officer said.
The development comes a few days after the state government declared the self-styled ‘Commander-in-chief’ of KIA Thangkhongam Haokip as ‘Wanted’ for his involvement in “frequent kidnapping for ransom/extortion/bombing cases.” A reward of Rs 50,000 was also announced by the state for any information of his whereabouts.
At least 14 designated camps for SoO militants are set up by the government in various hill districts of the state to house cadres of the tribal outfits under specific ground rules.
The state government is observing tripartite talks with at at least 25 Kuki underground outfits along with the Central government.
The SoO pact which was first signed in 2008 for initiating political talks is broadly divided into umbrella groups of Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF).
The state government in March had pulled out of Suspension of Operations agreement with Kuki National Army and Zomi Revolutionary Army, alleging of their involvement in agitation against the state government measures to check encroachment of forest areas. PTI COR RG RG
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