Over 260 from Myanmar seek shelter in Manipur
Public funeral of cadre of banned outfit PLA held in Imphal East, officials order enquiry
Manipur:
Public funeral of cadre of banned outfit PLA held in Imphal East, officials order enquiry
As civil war rages in Myanmar, security agencies are verifying the reports of death of a Manipuri youth in the neighbouring country and keeping a close watch on its impact on ethnic-strife hit Manipur. From January 27, 2025, around 260 Myanmar refugees have taken shelter in India along the Moreh border in Manipur, a defence source said on Sunday (February 2, 2025).
Since January 9, 2025, amid air strikes by Myanmar military, refugees have been streaming into areas close to the Manipur border in batches. Defence sources said around 100 foreigners had sought temporary refuge but eventually returned after the bombings stopped.
“However, from January 27-29, when the fighting intensified in Myanmar, as many as 261 refugees arrived, who are yet to return,” said the source.
Last week, a funeral, attended by hundreds of people was held for a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cadre at a public ground in Imphal East’s Andro. PLA is a banned Meitei insurgent outfit which espouses secession of Manipur.
Officials said the news of deaths of Manipuri youth may be exaggerated as part of a propaganda to glorify the insurgent groups. A senior government official said there have been reports of tribal Kuki-Zo people also being killed in Myanmar but nothing has been substantiated so far.
When asked how armed men were allowed to hold a public funeral for the member of a banned organisation in Andro, a senior government official said, “There was no body. The funeral rituals took place in absentia. After the video of the ceremony started circulating, we ordered an enquiry but no action has been taken so far.”
The Revolutionary People’s Front, of which the PLA is an armed wing said in a statement on January 30 that that Henthoiba succumbed to injuries sustained during the encounter with “proxy enemies” in an attack planned by the Indian Army. RPF said that Henthoiba joined PLA after successfully completing training in September 2023, few months after ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei people erupted in the State on May 3.
The PLA cadre identified as Henthoiba (28), a resident of Kakching in Manipur was reportedly killed on January 27 in an exchange of gunfire along the Manipur border with Myanmar.
The valley based insurgent groups (VBIGs) or the banned Meitei extremist groups operate from Myanmar and are often engaged in fight with the People’s Defence Force (PDF) and the Kuki National Army (Burma), among the several resistance groups and Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAO) active in Myanmar. The EAO’s are fighting against the Myanmar junta. On February 1, intense fight broke between the PDF and Junta near Tamu in Myanmar, few kilometres from Moreh border in Manipur.
The Union Home Ministry (MHA) in 2024 extended the ban against eight insurgent groups including the RPF/PLA for another five years.
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