The Union Home Ministry has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in six police station areas of Manipur, citing the ongoing volatile situation resulting from ethnic violence in the region. The areas where AFSPA has been reintroduced are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi, and Moirang in Bishnupur.
This decision follows persistent ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, which have left over 200 people dead and displaced thousands since May 2023. The reimposition of AFSPA allows security forces enhanced powers to maintain law and order in these districts, which have seen escalating violence.
The move comes after the Manipur government imposed AFSPA across the entire state on October 1, 2024, although it excluded 19 police station areas, including the six mentioned above.
Violence in Jiribam district has escalated in recent days. On November 11, 2024, a gunfight erupted between security forces and suspected militants, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 insurgents. The militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked a police station and a nearby CRPF camp in Jiribam. Just a day later, armed militants abducted six civilians, including women and children, from the district.
The ethnic violence in the state has been particularly intense in the Imphal Valley, where the Meitei community is based, and in the surrounding hill districts home to the Kuki-Zo groups. However, Jiribam, a region previously relatively untouched by the conflict, saw an uptick in violence following the discovery of a farmer’s mutilated body in June 2024, further exacerbating tensions in the area.
The imposition of AFSPA in these areas signals the government’s concern over the escalating violence and its efforts to stabilize the region.
