South Asia Terrorism Portal
Manipur: Bringing back an insurgency Afsara Shaheen Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On September 16, 2023, an Indian Army soldier, Sepoy Serto Thangthang Kom, was abducted and killed by unidentified assailants at Khuningthek Village in Imphal East District.
On September 13, 2023, a Sub-Inspector of the Manipur Police, Onkhomang Haokip, was shot dead by a sniper at Chingphei Village in Churachandpur District.
On September 12, 2023, three civilians belonging to the Kuki-Zo community – Satneo Tuboi, Ngamminlun Lhouvum and Ngamminlun Kipgen – were killed by armed assailants in the Kanggui area of Kangpokpi District, Manipur. An unnamed security official disclosed that the attack appeared to have been orchestrated by “trained people”, since it likely involved crossing the buffer zone which security forces have been maintaining between Meitei-dominated and Kuki-dominated areas.
According to partial data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), since the beginning of the current year, Manipur has recorded a total of 124 insurgency-linked fatalities (data till September 24, 2023), the highest recorded in a year since 2010, at 138. The 2023 fatalities included 55 civilians, 14 Security Force (SF) personnel, 54 terrorists, and one in the ‘Not Specified’ category. During the corresponding period of 2022, insurgency-inked fatalities stood at seven (five civilians, one trooper and one insurgent). There was no further fatality in 2022. The 2022 tally was the lowest recorded in the state since 2019, with nine, and 2020, with seven fatalities. There were 27 fatalities in 2021.
The security situation in Manipur has been showing sustained improvement over the last several years, with occasional intervening spikes. Overall fatalities remained in the three digits for 19 consecutive years, between 1992 to 2010, with a high of 496 in 2008. In the next eight years, between 2011 and 2018, with the exception of 2012 when there were 113 fatalities, the tally remained in the double digits. Between 2019 and 2022, again with an exception in 2021, fatalities had fallen into the single digits.
The sudden surge in fatalities is linked to the outbreak and persistence of ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities in the state since May 3, 2023, in Churachandpur District, which spread rapidly across the state and continues till date. Prior to the outbreak of the clashes, between January 1 and May 2, 2023, Manipur had recorded four insurgency-linked fatalities (one civilian and three insurgents). On the other hand, between May 3, 2023 and September 22, 2023, 120 fatalities (54 civilians, 14 troopers and 51 insurgents, one Not Specified) have been recorded. Among these, 87 fatalities (41 civilians, 38 insurgents and eight SF personnel) were recorded in the Valley Districts while 33 fatalities (13 civilians, 13 insurgents, six SF personnel, one ‘Not Specified’) were recorded in the Hill Districts.
Four insurgent groups – the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), National Revolutionary Front Manipur (NRFM), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the Kuki Independent Army (KIA) – were active before the ethnic violence started in May. While two militants of the UNLF were found dead at Vangli village in Churachandpur District on January 4, 2023; a student was killed at Motbung Model village in Kangpokpi District on March 25, 2023, by NRFM. Two militants were arrested during this period: a KYKL militant from Waikong village in Kakching District on March 31, 2023; and a KIA militant from the Mata Lambulane area in Churachandpur District on May 1, 2023.
The insurgent groups which have remained active or reactivated after the violence started on May 3 included: Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), UNLF, Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak-Progressive (PREPAK-Pro), KIA, Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council Taibanganba faction (KCP-MC Taibanganba), Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA). All these groups had been active in the state at one stage or the other, at the peak of the insurgency.
Meanwhile, the Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate of six Valley-based militant outfits, and all its constituents – the KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK-Pro, Revolutionary People's Front (RPF, the political wing of the People's Liberation Army- PLA) and UNLF – have remained outside the negotiation process. Though the constituents of the conglomerate have remained violently active, the last incident of killing linked to the conglomerate was reported on May 22, 2016, when at least six personnel of the 29 Assam Rifles, including one Junior Commissioned Officer, were killed and seven other personnel were injured, in an ambush at Hengshi village near Joupi under Tengnoupal Police Station in Chandel District. CorCom claimed responsibility for the ambush. CorCom, meanwhile, has continued to make calls for shutdowns and boycotts. Most recently, the conglomerate called for a boycott of India's Independence Day Celebration (August 15, 2023) in Manipur.
Meanwhile, on September 14, 2023, I. K. Muivah, Inspector General of Manipur Police (IGP, Armed Police/Operations), disclosed that a total of 175 persons, including women and children, had been killed in ethnic violence in the state between May 3 and September 14, 2023, while 1,108 persons, including women and children, sustained injuries in the violence, and 32 persons were on the missing list. No further details were provided, so it is not possible to assess that how many of these casualties were linked to ethnic clashes, and how many to insurgent violence.
During the early phases of the outbreak of ethnic violence, a significant number of weapons and large quantities of ammunition were looted from various Police Stations and Army depots in Manipur. On September 14, 2023, IGP (Administration) K. Jayanta stated that 5,668 arms, 6,64,002 rounds of ammunition, and 14,825 explosive devices, had been looted from Police armouries in the course of the violence. Of these, SFs had recovered just 1,329 weapons, 15,050 rounds of ammunition, and 400 explosive devices, till September 13. Earlier, on August 6, 2023, the Manipur Police stated that a total of 623 arms had been looted in the Hill Districts by Kuki militants, out of which 138 had been recovered by August 5, 2023. The Police disclosed, further, that as many as 4,324 arms were looted in the Valley Districts, of which 1,072 had been recovered by August 5.
The ethnic clashes are still persisting. Also, an overwhelming proportion of looted weaponry has not yet been recovered, despite repeated appeals by the people at the helm. Most recently, on September 22, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s office issued an appeal to the people to cooperate with the Centre and the state government to restore peace and normalcy, and to surrender "illegal weapons" in their possession, adding that the government was "willing to take a considerate view of the persons submitting such illegal weapons within 15 days." At the end of this period, central and state SFs would undertake "strong and comprehensive search operations" across the state to recover such weapons, and all persons found possessing illegal arms would be dealt with ‘severely’, as per the law.
Worryingly the statement also revealed,
Indeed, the ongoing ethnic clashes have created an environment of complete turmoil in the state. Large areas of the state are still under curfew more than four and a half months since the violence began, and Internet services also remain suspended. On September 23, however, the Chief Minister announced that the Internet services will be restored from that date (September 23).
Such an uncertain environment, fraught with violence as well as ethnic and communal polarization, has helped insurgents make a comeback.
The Governments – Union as well as State – have been found wanting in their approach to the current situation and appear to be interested in sustaining the politics of polarisation. While additional Central Forces have been deployed, there is little political effort to bring the situation on the ground under control and restore normalcy. Indeed, there has been a sustained campaign of ethnic/communal incitement by prominent political leaders and ‘social organisations’, with the Chief Minister himself on record for making a number of misleading and provocative statements.
On August 1, 2023, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, during a hearing in cases related to the violence in Manipur, lamented,
The state which was on a path to complete normalcy, has now been forced into instability and is confronted by deeply troubling uncertainties, all because of the abject failure - indeed, mischief - of the political class. The SFs, given their capabilities, may restore a measure of imposed order in the state, but a sustainable peace has now become a distant dream. The resolution of the state's complex ethnic problems, in particular, the issues of a tribal status to the Meiteis and lopsided land rights between the Valley and the Hills, have now become even more intractable.
Women - tormented, invisible Sanchita Bhattacharya Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
Since the Taliban’s ‘takeover’ of Afghanistan in August, 2021, the female population of the country, comprising 49.5 per cent of the total, is experiencing severe distress, torture, and violence. Their personal freedom and choices, their very existence or right to life, are at the mercy of the Taliban Regime. A few examples over the past six months illustrate the pervasive nature of the brutality going under this barbaric regime in Afghanistan, where women across every walk of life have been detained, lashed, raped, abducted, attacked, and killed.
On September 19, 2023, the Taliban detained a member of Spontaneous Women’s Movement of Afghanistan, Neda Parwani, along with her husband and their four-year-old child, in the Khairkhana area of Kabul. Subsequently, she was transferred to an undisclosed location. As of now, the Taliban has not issued any official statement regarding this incident.
On August 23, 2023, a woman was shot dead inside her residence at Qara-Baghi Square within the Fourth Police District of Ghazni City, the capital of Ghazni Province. The Taliban's provincial ‘security commander’ confirmed the incident.
As reported on August 8, 2023, unidentified gunmen mutilated a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Mahdia, cutting off her ears, nose, and tongue, before killing her in the village of Masjid Gholam Hassan Khaan in the Second Police District of Imam Saheb District in Kunduz Province. Local Taliban officials have confirmed this incident.
On August 5, 2023, a woman, identified as Masouma, was beheaded by unknown assailants in the village of Jilamkhor in Khwaja Ghar District in Takhar Province.
On May 22, 2023, two female teachers affiliated with Darul Uloom Ettefaq, located in the centre of the Bamyan Province, were beaten by the Taliban for welcoming the Taliban’s acting minister of education, Habibulla Aghaz, who had traveled to Bamyan.
On May 1, 2023, Mawlawi Muttaqi, the ‘commander’ of the Taliban’s security command for Panjsher Province, forcibly entered a house and sexually assaulted a woman at Frubal village in Bazarak, the provincial centre.
On April 27, 2023, the son of a Taliban ‘commander’ in the Ghor Province, along with a fighter from his group, shot dead a young girl after they failed to rape her in the Sad Seyah area of Firozkoh District. The identity of the assaulter was not disclosed in the media.
On April 13, 2023, a female doctor, Zakera Rahmani, was killed by unidentified gunmen near Chanzi village on the Takhar-Kunduz Highway in Takhar Province. The victim's husband, was also severely wounded in the incident. The Taliban warned the victim’s family not to share any details of the incident with the media.
The chilling impact of these incidents of violence is compounded by the enveloping environment of repression that has put the very existence of women in Afghanistan at stake. On the Sky News documentary series, "Defying the Taiban: women at war in Afghanistan", published on December 7, 2022, on YouTube, Mehbouba Seraj, a women's rights activist and member of the Afghan Women's Network, observed,
On February 6, 2023, while addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that women and girls in Afghanistan are now "exiles in their own country" due to laws banning them from public life.
According to the Summary report of country-wide women's consultations, published by UNAMA in September, 2023:
Furthermore, the provincial picture is extremely grim, with respect to various edicts and orders issued by the Talban from time to time, excluding women from various spaces. The Taliban has been extremely meticulous with regard to suppression of the rights of women across the country. On May 15, 2023, in Daykundi Province, Taliban officials set up a check post where they harass, intimidate, and detain women and girls for not wearing hijab. In the month of April, 2023, Taliban forbade women from taking part in Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations in Takhar and Baghlan Provinces. In the same month, Taliban officials in Ghazni Province banned all local media outlets from broadcasting commercial announcements recorded with women’s voices. In March, 2023, the Taliban shut down the women run radio station Sadai-e-Banowan in Badakhshan Province over broadcasting music, during Ramadan.
Apart from denying young girls’ higher education, as instructed by the Ministry of Higher Education on December 18, 2022, female students and educational institutions for girls have also been directly targeted under the regime. On June 3, 2023, 60 female students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School, and 17 female students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Faizabad School, both in the Sangcharak District of Sar-e Pul Province. On April 11, 2023, unidentified assailants set ablaze a girls’ high school in the village of Shokhak in Shahr-e-Safa District in Zabul Province. As a result, all administrative documents and books kept in the school building were burned. Earlier, on March 29, 2022, two girls were killed and another six were injured in a grenade explosion inside a girls’ primary school classroom in Qush Tepa District of Jowzjan Province.
On June 27, Amnesty International called on the Taliban to unconditionally release Afghan educationist Matiuallah Wesa, the founder of ‘Pen Path’ and a prominent supporter of girls’ education, noting "Under international human rights law, Matiullah Wesa’s arbitrary detention is a violation of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly." He was detained on March 27, 2023 by the Taliban Intelligence unit in Kabul.
The restrictions imposed on the female population of Afghanistan has also resulted in various health and medical-related directives from the Taliban, with the regime imposing discriminatory restrictions on the health care system. As reported in July, 2023, for instance, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health announced that only males would be allowed to take exams to pursue specialized medical studies. This follows a ban on female medical students taking graduation exams announced in February, 2023. On January 29, 2023, officials of the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue in Kandahar Province ordered female employees of local clinics and health centres to refrain from going to work without being accompanied by a Mahram (male guardian). Earlier on December 24, 2022, the Taliban also barred female employees of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from coming to work, causing turmoil in the working process of various global health NGOs. On March 8, 2023, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE International published a joint statement declaring, “We cannot effectively reach children, women, and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff.”
As in all other sectors, female journalists and media personnels have also been excluded from their workplace by the Taliban. According to Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF, Reporters without Borders), more than 80 per cent of female journalists had lost their jobs by 2022. As reported on February 1, 2023, RSF and the Center for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists noted that only 76 media professionals, including 39 journalists, were still working in Kabul, compared to 4,940 journalists in 2020, 700 of whom were women. Furthermore, on March 8, 2023, International Media Support stated:
In an unashamed eyewash, on June 25, 2023, in an Eid-ul-Adha message, the Taliban’s ‘supreme leader’, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, declared that necessary steps had been taken for the betterment of women, as half of society, and steps had been taken to provide women with a "comfortable and prosperous life according to Islamic Sharia.”
The situation of Afghan women is precarious and the environment in which they are living, vicious. There is no hope for any improvement in their situation in the foreseeable future. Indeed, given the severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban on the daily life of women and girls, at every step and stage, their condition can only deteriorate over the coming years.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia September 18-24, 2023
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
CHT
INDIA
Chhattisgarh
Manipur
India (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PAKISTAN (Total)
Total (South Asia)
UNAMA reports over 1,600 cases of human rights violation against Afghans by Taliban: On September 20, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that between January 2022 and the end of July 2023, it had documented more than 1,600 cases of human rights violations. This report said, "it had documented over 1,600 cases of human rights violations, including the deaths of 18 people while in custody and acts of "torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" committed by the current authorities (Taliban) in Afghanistan during arrests and detentions." Tolo News, September 21, 2023.
As we engage with the Taliban, we need to keep women and girls' issues in front and centre; says US official Thomas West: On the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Special Representative for Afghanistan at the United States (US) Department of State, Thomas West, said that as we engage with the Taliban, we need to keep women and girls' issues in front and centre. He further said, "As we engage with the Taliban, we need to keep women and girls' issues front and centre when we talk about other things-it is their families that are bearing the brunt of that dislocation." Tolo News, September 14, 2023.
70 per cent of Afghans need humanitarian aid, says UN Secretary General António Guterres: The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, said that 70 per cent of Afghans are in need of humanitarian aid. He also appealed to the global community to focus their attention on vulnerable regions like Afghanistan and provide substantial assistance." Bakhtar News, September 14, 2023.
NIA intensifies crackdown on Khalistani terrorists: On September 20, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued details of 43 most-wanted criminals, many of them associated with terror-gangster networks having links to Canada or the Khalistan movement. Urging the public to share details of the criminals, the NIA in its post issued pictures of Lawrence Bishnoi, Jasdeep Singh, Kala Jatheri alias Sandeep, Virender Pratap alias Kala Rana, and Joginder Singh along with their names. The Times of India, September 21, 2023.
21 Khalistani radicals and nine separatist outfits supporting terror groups have bases in Canada, says report: No less than 21 pro-Khalistan separatists have been sheltered by Canada that continue to target the unity of India. The list includes - Arshdeep Singh alias Dala, Satinderjit Singh Brar alias Goldy Brar, Ramandeep Singh, Gurjit Singh Cheema, Gurjinder Singh Pannu, Gurpreet Singh, Tehal Singh, Malkeet Singh Fauji, Manvir Singh Duhra, Parvkar Singh Dulai, Moninder Singh Bijal, Bhagat Singh Brar, Satinder Pal Singh Gill, Sulinder Singh Virk, Manveer Singh, Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, Sukhdul Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sundeep Singh, Mandeep Singh. Hindustan Times, September 20, 2023.
ISI agents hold 'secret' meetings with Khalistani outfits, says sources: Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents and leaders of Khalistan terror groups convened a 'clandestine' meeting at the Vancouver City of British Columbia Province in Canada. This meeting allegedly took place on September 16, 2023, and the attendees included Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and other Khalistani organization heads. India Today, September 14, 2023.
SFJ Chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatens to shut down Indian Missions pan Canada and asks Indo-Hindu Canadians to relocate to India: The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun circulated a video in which he threatened to shut down India's Diplomatic Missions in Ottawa and other cities across Canada on September 25. According to the reports, the protest is to take place against the accusations of involvement of Indian Agencies in the controversial murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (a wanted terrorist in India) on June 18, 2023. Deccan Herald, September 21, 2023.
Pakistan facing big threat of TTP and IS-KP from Afghan soil, says Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani: Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on September 20 said that Pakistan was facing the biggest concern at present with an enhanced threat from the terrorist outfits, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP). The Minister expressed concern over the outfits' ability to use the Afghan soil to launch attacks on Pakistan. He was speaking on Pakistan's foreign policy and its quest for peace, stability, and shared prosperity at an event of Asia Society, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. Daily Times, September 21, 2023.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
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