India
The Centre has announced the deployment of an additional 50 companies of CRPF and BSF personnel—amounting to over 5,000 officers—to Manipur in response to a surge in ethnic violence in the state. This follows ongoing unrest that has resulted in more than 230 deaths since the violence first erupted in 2023.
Of the 50 companies being sent, 35 will be from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), while the remaining 15 will be from the Border Security Force (BSF). This is the second round of central force deployment in response to the latest wave of violence that began in the Jiribam district and has since spread across other regions of Manipur.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had already deployed 20 additional units on November 12—comprising 15 CRPF and 5 BSF companies. With this latest deployment, the total number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies in the state has risen to 218.
A comprehensive deployment strategy is being developed based on the current security situation and the varying levels of violence reported. The unrest intensified after the bodies of six Meitei individuals—three women and three children from the same family—were recovered, allegedly abducted and killed by Kuki militants. This came shortly after an encounter between CRPF forces and suspected Kuki insurgents, which left 11 militants dead. However, Kuki-Zo organizations have described the deceased as “village volunteers.”
In parallel, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi on Monday to review the security situation in Manipur. This was his second meeting on the issue in under 24 hours, following his decision to cancel rallies in poll-bound Maharashtra to return to the national capital.
Since June 2023, ethnic tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities have led to widespread violence, leaving thousands displaced and escalating the crisis in the region.
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