Manipur SoO pact with Kuki groups not extended, says Konthoujam amid crackdown after 3 Meitei killed

The Suspension of Operations pact was designed to pause hostilities between the government and Kuki militant groups. If it is not extended, the pact’s protections, obligations, and monitoring framework no longer apply, according to Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam. The government is therefore treating the current period as one without an active SoO agreement.

The practical change came during a security operation at Sinai camp in Kangpokpi. Eighteen cadres were found there. One was identified as belonging to the Kuki National Front, while the other 17 were being formally arrested as their identities and affiliations were checked. Konthoujam said new recruitment by previously covered groups would be illegal.

Security operations are continuing after three Meitei youths were killed in Imphal East. The government says it will not stop the crackdown. The article also reports that the SoO was renewed for one year on September 4, 2025, making the minister’s statement the current position described.

A Suspension of Operations pact is an arrangement in which armed groups and governments pause fighting while the state manages the groups under agreed conditions. In Manipur, the pact was first signed on August 22, 2008. It involved the governments of India and Manipur and Kuki militant groups representing 25 outfits.

The central commitment was simple: the militant groups agreed to completely stop any form of violence. Their cadres were housed in designated camps, giving authorities a defined system for monitoring where members were located. The arrangement aimed to cease hostilities rather than immediately settle the wider conflict.

The latest renewal occurred during President’s Rule on September 4, 2025, for one year. However, Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said the agreement had not been extended and that no SoO agreement currently existed. The statement came as security forces investigated violence linked to three Meitei deaths.

The SoO arrangement covered 25 Kuki militant outfits. It grouped them under two umbrella organisations, creating a structured channel for dealing with many separate armed groups. The Kuki National Organisation, or KNO, comprised 17 outfits. The United People’s Front, or UPF, comprised eight.

The cadres belonging to these groups were housed in 14 designated camps. This camp system was a key mechanism of the arrangement. It gave security authorities specific locations to inspect and made it possible to identify whether people present claimed affiliation with a group covered by the pact.

That system is now under pressure. During a recent operation at Sinai camp in Kangpokpi district, forces found 18 cadres. One was identified as a Kuki National Front cadre, while the identities and affiliations of 17 others were still being established. The minister said all 17 would be formally arrested.

Three Meitei youths were killed in an attack that sharply escalated the current security response. Police identified them as Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 57, Arubam Ronin, 35, and Keshtrimayum Sushil, 32. Three other people were injured in the same assault.

Around 9 am on Monday, militants opened fire on 16 Meitei firewood collectors at Khongban Sunurok village in Imphal East. The village lies near the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. Security forces later apprehended three individuals. Police said two allegedly admitted involvement, and one was suspected of being a Kuki National Front cadre.

Search operations continued to arrest everyone involved. Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said the government would not turn back from the operation. Investigators were still interrogating the suspects, so the article reports suspicion and allegations rather than final findings about responsibility.

Without an active SoO agreement, groups formerly covered by it cannot rely on the arrangement’s operating framework. The minister said there is therefore no question of violating SoO ground rules. Instead, people suspected of involvement in violence or unlawful recruitment can face ordinary legal action and intensified security operations.

The immediate example is Sinai camp in Kangpokpi district. Security forces found 18 cadres there. One was identified as belonging to the Kuki National Front. The remaining 17 had unconfirmed identities and affiliations, but Konthoujam said they would all be formally arrested while investigators established who they were.

The minister also warned that any new recruitment by groups previously covered by SoO during the non-extension period would be illegal. Such recruitment would invite stringent legal action. The crackdown is continuing because authorities are investigating the killing of three Meitei youths, while three apprehended suspects remain under interrogation.

The incident is part of an ethnic conflict that began between Meitei and Kuki communities in May 2023. Since then, the two communities have largely shut each other out of areas they dominate. The article says the violence later involved almost every community in the state, producing a prolonged security and political crisis.

The three Meitei deaths in Imphal East were described as the first conflict incident between Meiteis and Kukis since July 13. On that date, armed Kuki groups attacked Meitei residents in Bishnupur’s Torbung Bangla. The article also records growing Naga-Kuki tensions, including ambushes on May 13 that killed four people and led to 48 hostages being taken.

The wider toll remains severe. At least 260 people have died and 60,000 have been displaced since the clashes began. In recent months, at least 50 more people died, mostly in Naga-Kuki clashes. A new government formed in February includes all three major communities.

Ceasefire arrangements help governments contain armed conflict without requiring an immediate final settlement. They can stop attacks, create channels for communication, and give authorities a way to monitor armed members. The Manipur SoO pact aimed to cease hostilities by requiring Kuki militant groups to stop every form of violence.

Its mechanism was practical as well as political. The pact covered 25 outfits under KNO and UPF, while their cadres lived in 14 designated camps. These locations gave security forces a basis for checking compliance and identifying members. Such arrangements can lower immediate risks even when communities remain divided and distrustful.

The article also shows their limits. People across Manipur, particularly Meiteis, demanded that the pact be abrogated. After the latest killings, the minister said no agreement existed and intensified operations followed. The wider ethnic dispute remains unresolved, with communities separated, large-scale displacement, and continuing tensions involving Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas.