All the 212 people, belonging to the Meitei community, are residents of Moreh, which lies along the Myanmar border.
Chief minister N Biren Singh thanked the Indian Army for ensuring their safe return. “Relief and gratitude as 212 fellow Indian citizens (all Meiteis) who sought safety across the Myanmar border post the May 3 unrest in Moreh town of Manipur, are now safely back on Indian soil,” Singh said in a post on messaging platform X late on Friday evening.
The Spear Corps of the Army put out a statement saying the Assam Rifles worked in close coordination with the civil administration and police to ensure the safe return of 212 people, including 89 women and 37 children, from Myanmar to Assam Rifles’ Moreh Camp.
Necessary administrative support in terms of shelter, food and medical care is being provided, it said, adding that so far more than 400 displaced persons have been assisted by Assam Rifles and police.
Around 50,650 people belonging to different communities were displaced in the violence that started in early May. They are now sheltered in 350 camps, set up in schools, government buildings and auditoriums. Around 12,000 people from Manipur are taking shelter in Mizoram.Protests after KillingProtests have erupted in the areas dominated by the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, particularly in Kangpokpi district, after three people were killed in Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday.
Since Friday afternoon, hundreds of women in Kangpokpi district have been protesting along national highway 2, disrupting traffic.
The protesters are demanding deployment of Assam Rifles personnel. They pointed out that the three people were killed and their bodies mutilated barely two days after the chief minister urged the people of Manipur to “forgive and forget” and live peacefully.