GUWAHATI: With defence choppers taking off and landing frequently and columns of Assam Rifles arriving in batches, a nondescript village in Manipur’s Ukhrul district resembles a virtual battlefield.
A standoff between the personnel of Assam Rifles and insurgents belonging to Isak-Muivah, a faction of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), led to the tense situation in Sihai village, located some 30 km away from Ukhrul town.
The major Naga insurgent group had set up an “unauthorised” camp at Khamasom village, located around five km away from Sihai and two km from the India-Myanmar border. The move has angered the security forces.
Sihai has remained tense since April 26 when Assam Rifles personnel started arriving there to flush out the group of around 70 NSCN-IM rebels, who have been camping there for the past few months.
The paramilitary force learnt about the presence of the camp during a routine aerial recce on April 25. Subsequently, it urged the locals and church leaders to tell the insurgents to vacate the camp as it violates its ceasefire rules.
The NSCN-IM had signed a peace accord with the Centre in 1997. According to the ceasefire, the rebels cannot move outside their designated camps located in Nagaland.
On April 27, the chairman of the ceasefire monitoring group (CFMG) had passed instructions to NSCN-IM authorities to vacate the camp. However, the insurgents refused to budge.
As the standoff continues, the Assam Rifles has kept rushing in reinforcements to Sihai. It has also kept the rebel camp under constant surveillance by air and other means.
Several Naga organisations of Ukhrul, led by Tangkhul Naga Long, have appealed to both sides to resolve the issue peacefully. They will take out a peace rally at Sihai on Tuesday.
“It’s a war-like situation and people are panic-stricken. So, we are taking out a peace rally at Sihai on Tuesday,” said Mangang Raman, a leader of Tangkhul Naga Long.
Neither Assam Rifles nor NSCN-IM was available for comments.
The Centre and the NSCN-IM have been holding peace parleys for over 20 years now but a solution to the vexed “Naga problem” continues to elude both sides.