The Kuki-Zo insurgent camp taken over by the CRPF in Manipur is among the two to be relocated under the MHA deal

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh during an inspection of Camp Sinai, a camp designated for militants under the Suspension of Operations (SoO), in Kangpokpi district, Manipur. File | Photo credit: PTI

Sinai, a designated Kuki-Zo insurgent camp in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district that was raided by security forces, is one of two camps run by Kuki-Zo insurgent groups that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Manipur government want to relocate under a new agreement signed in 2025. On 27 October, a raid led to the arrest of 1 people.

There are 24 Kuki-Zo insurgent groups under the umbrella of the United People’s Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organization (KNO), which signed a suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the MHA and the Manipur government in 2008 following Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s that killed hundreds. The pact was regularly extended until February 2024, when the Manipur government refused to extend it due to ethnic violence that broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people on 3 May 2023.

The SoO was then re-signed on 4 September 2025 with new terms following renewed tensions in the state when ethnic violence spread between the Naga and Kuki communities. The new SoO agreement says that KNO and UPF will each have six camps, instead of the current 14 camps. Camps must be located away from populated areas, national highways and conflict-prone areas, and at a reasonable distance from both Myanmar and inter-state borders.

“Impersonating Registered Cadres”

In a “surprise raid” on October 23, a joint team of Manipur Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles found only 18 people in the Sinai camp, against the sanctioned strength of 150. According to the police, “17 individuals were found posing as registered SoO cadres using fake identities.” The camp is now under CRPF management.

The Sinai camp is located near Nongshum, a hilly area near the border between Meitei-majority Imphal East and Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi districts, where three Meitei villagers were killed on October 19.

“The center must intervene”

KNO spokesperson Seilen Haokip told The Hindu that the 18 KNO members arrested had been present in the Sinai camp for the past ten years, adding that their presence was confirmed by security forces who had come for inspection in the past.

“We know that this camp has been taken over by the CRPF under the pressure of the state government. All the arms that have been seized are all approved registered arms authorized for the protection of the camp – there is no surrender clause in the SoO,” he said, adding that “the Center must intervene in this matter.”

According to him, the presence of “listed and unlisted staff” is not a basic criterion, because the essence of the agreement is dialogue. “The SoO deal has to be seen in comparison to the Centre’s deals with other groups that are not bound by similar restrictions on ‘listed or unlisted cadres’ responsible for offensives against Kuki SoO groups,” Mr Haokip said. He admitted that some of the Sinai cadres were not part of the 2008 list, but said they included original members who the SoO groups cannot leave.

“The main issue in the current scene is the killing of three Meiteis in the forest in Tangkhul village. There has been a relative absence of violence between the Kukis and the Meiteis in recent times and the current incident could have been engineered. The KNO cadres categorically did not get involved. Why would they, given that strategically it would be against their interest in view of the proxy war by the NSCN-IM?” he asked, referring to the Isak-Muivah faction of the Nagaland Nationalist Socialist Group, a Naga insurgent group.

‘SoO camps are not untouchable’

A senior government official said that since the SoO was not extended, a raid on the Sinai camp would set a precedent.

“So far the SoO camps have been untouchable, but from now on we expect basic rules to be followed. According to our records, there should have been 159 cadres in Sinai. However, only one of the 18 people found at the time of the raid was authorized to be there,” a government official said.

Manipur police said 24 firearms, 38 magazines and a large quantity of ammunition, explosives, wireless communication equipment and other combat equipment were seized. It added that further investigations are underway into the involvement of camp officials, impersonation, unauthorized possession of weapons and violation of basic SoO rules.

Published – 26 Oct 2026 23:03 IST