Myanmar Connection To Manipur Violence: 32 Foreign Nationals Among 44 Detained Over Police Officer's Killing, Ambush

Security forces conducted a cordon and search operation in Manipur's Moreh town on Wednesday (1 November), detaining 44 individuals, including a minimum of 32 Myanmar nationals.

This operation was launched following the killing of a police officer on Tuesday and a subsequent ambush, according to officials familiar with the situation.

The slain police officer was shot in Moreh, and the authorities are currently investigating the detainees' potential involvement. More details will be disclosedlater, as stated by an unnamed official to Hindustan Times.

Officials involved in investigating the two attacks suspect that the attackers may have fled to Myanmar. The government has consistently asserted that terror groups from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been exacerbating the violence in Manipur.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has initiated a case to examine the conspiracy behind the ethnic violence between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities. This conflict, which began in May, has resulted in 178 fatalities and the displacement of approximately 50,000 people.

The search and cordon operations near the India-Myanmar border commenced on Tuesday, shortly after the assassination of Moreh's sub-divisional police officer, Chingtham Anand Kumar. Kumar was supervising the preparation of school grounds for the construction of a helipad.

During the course of these operations, three police personnel sustained injuries as they were ambushed while en route to the location along the Imphal-Moreh highway.