Manipur riots will end if arms seized: Army

Guwahati: The Eastern Command chief of the Indian Army Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita has said that ongoing violence and unrest in trouble-torn Manipur needs a political solution as sporadic incidents of violence continue to rock north-eastern states due to sharp polarisation between two communities.

Lt Gen. Kalita also asserted that the violence will not stop unless around 4,000 weapons, which were looted from security forces, are recovered from common people.

He said that the Indian Army’s initial aim was to carry out rescue and relief operations for the people who were displaced from their houses, and then to contain the violence, which they have been largely successful. However, he added that some sporadic incidents keep taking place here and there due to the polarisation between the two communities.

He pointed out that the root cause of the clashes was the legacy issues between the three communities that live in the state – Meitei, Kuki and Naga. He said that there had been conflicts between the Kukis and Nagas in the 1990s when almost 1,000 people were killed.