Brazen Display Of Lethal Weapons By Kuki Militants At Independence Day Parade Send Shockwaves; Here’s Why They Did So

The ethnic strife in Manipur has taken a dangerous turn with Kuki militants, a good number of them being illegal immigrants from Myanmar, getting brazen.

An audacious display of arms (watch this video) at the Independence Day celebrations organised by some Kuki civil society organisations at the Lamka Public Ground in Churachandpur, Tuesday (15 August) morning, has evoked concern and condemnation in equal measure. 

Kuki militants, under the garb of ‘village defence forces’, clad in combat uniform and some wearing bulletproof jackets, marched in the Independence Day parade at Churachandpur with assault rifles and an array of bolt action rifles. 

Some of the Kuki militants were seen carrying highly lethal (German-made) Heckler & Koch MP5 rifles, while a few were carrying folded AK 47s. Possession of these weapons is illegal.

Also, the bolt action rifles that were being carried by the Kuki militants fall in the prohibited bore category and are, hence, illegal.

The march-past by well-armed Kuki militants at Churachandpur has sent alarm bells ringing in the state security establishment. 

State authorities have taken up the issue with the Assam Rifles which is mandated to oversee security in the hills. 

“The brazen display of weapons by the Kuki militants was shocking. The way they held their weapons revealed that they are well-trained. They cannot be merely village defence forces, they are well-trained militants,” a senior police officer told Swarajya. 

Lt Gen (retired) Laiphrakpam Nishikanta Singh, who headed the Army’s Intelligence Corps, said that the participation of armed Kuki militants in the Independence Day parade was “shocking”. 

“Only security forces display weapons during a parade. Kukis are sending the message that they can get away with anything. It is an open show of impunity,” said the Army veteran who has settled down in Imphal after retirement. 

But Tuesday was not the first time that Kuki militants proudly displayed the sophisticated weapons in their possession. 

A number of videos have emerged of Kuki militants armed with highly sophisticated weapons guarding Kuki villages. 

Some of these militants are armed with sniper rifles like the Barrett M22 ASR (advanced sniper rifle) used by the US Special Operations Command. The US-made M22 ASR is also used by special forces of Israel, Norway, New Zealand and has been supplied to Ukraine as well. 

According to Indian intelligence sources, the Arakan Army in Myanmar possesses Barrett M22 ASRs and have used those weapons with devastating effect against the military junta in that country. The Arakan Army is a close ally of the Chin National Army (CNA) and Chinland Defence Force in Myanmar. 

The CNA is believed to have sent many of its well-trained cadres into Manipur to help the Kukis in the state in their fight against the Meiteis. 

“Kuki militants have used sophisticated arms to attack Meitei villages. We have ample evidence that they possess very sophisticated arms, some of which are even US-made. Kuki snipers have killed many Meitei villagers,” said a leader of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of various Meitei civil society groups. 

There are also videos of Kuki militants providing arms training to children, some as young as six and seven years old. 

Why Kuki Militants Displayed Lethal Weapons

Security analysts say that the display of sophisticated weapons by Kuki militants at the Independence Day celebrations in Churachandpur was deliberate. 

“The fight with the Meiteis is over since all Meiteis have left the Kuki-dominated areas in the hills and the foothills. The buffer zones between the Kuki-dominated and Meitei-dominated areas are slowly crystallising into ‘no man’s land’ that separate the Kuki areas from the Meitei areas,” explained S Koijam, a retired Army officer. 

“The next fight for the Kukis is with the security forces. They are demanding a separate state and they are now showing that they have the means to wage an armed struggle to achieve their goal of a separate state,” he added. 

Senior police officers agree with this assessment. “The Kuki militants know it is only a matter of time before security forces launch operations to disarm them. The display of weapons yesterday (15 August) was meant to send a ‘don’t mess with us’ warning to security forces. We have solid intelligence reports of Kuki militants possessing very sophisticated weapons that have been smuggled in from Myanmar. The strength of Kuki militant groups have been bolstered by CNA and CNDF rebels who have sneaked in illegally from Myanmar,” said an IG-rank police officer. 

This officer said that if the Kuki militants do not surrender their arms (which they definitely won’t), Manipur may witness fierce firefights between security forces and Kuki-Chin militants in the near future. 

The Kuki militant groups benefit hugely from illegal poppy cultivation by impoverished Kukis, almost all of them illegal immigrants from Myanmar, in the Kuki-dominated hill districts of Manipur. 

The Chin rebel groups of Myanmar have also started eyeing the very substantial proceeds from illegal poppy cultivation and the drug trade to fund their war with the Myanmarese military junta. 

That is why the Chin rebels from Myanmar have developed a stake in the demand for a separate Kuki state. It will be easier to cultivate poppy over a larger area in a separate Kuki state and that will generate more money for the Kuki-Chin militants. 

Also, Chin rebels—the Chins belong to the same ethnic stock as Kukis and are brethrens—will find it easy to infiltrate into a Kuki state from Myanmar and set up bases in such a state. 

“That is why the Chin rebels from Myanmar are so eager to help their Kuki brethren in the ethnic conflict with the Meiteis. The long-term objective of that critical assistance (to Kukis) is the formation of a separate Kuki state which will generate revenue for the Chin rebels and also become a safe refuge for them,” said the Army veteran. 

Presence of Chin rebels from Myanmar in Manipur

Lt Gen (retired) Singh says a close study and analysis of the ethnic conflict between Kukis and Meiteis that erupted on 3 May with the attack on Meiteis by Kukis in Churachandpur proves the presence of Chin rebels from Myanmar. 

“The violence can be divided into two phases. The first phase was between May 3 and May 10 to 11 when ordinary people of both the communities attacked and killed each other and indulged in looting and arson,” he said. There were gunfights in the first phase, but those were of low intensity, he added.

The second phase started around May 27 with high-intensity gunfights and use of sophisticated weapons. The Kukis started using sophisticated weapons and their operations were much better and well-coordinated. 

The second phase, say security analysts, started with the advent of Chin rebels from Myanmar on the scene. The Chin rebels, armed with the sophisticated weapons that they had brought along with them from Myanmar, took command of the Kuki offensive. 

“That was the time we saw snipers in action. The Chin rebels also started training Kuki ‘volunteers’. The videos of the Kuki fighters have them speaking in the Chin dialect which is a bit distinct from the Kuki dialect. That proves that they are actually Chin rebels from Myanmar,” said the serving police officer. 

“The Assam Rifles says that all the arms surrendered by the Kuki militant groups which have signed the ‘suspension of operations’ (SOO) agreement (with the Union and state governments) are with them (the Assam Rifles). So where are the arms being used by the Kuki ‘volunteers’ coming from? How have they been able to sustain the operations against Meiteis for so long?” asked Lt Gen (retd) Singh. 

The only and obvious answer to that is the smuggling of weapons from Myanmar. 

The security experts say that the immediate task before the security forces is to disarm the Kuki militants and also the Meitei groups which possess a lot of weapons looted from police armouries. 

But that’s a task that’s easier said than done.