Long range rockets found with Manipur groups; MHA-constituted committee conducts inquiry

Security concerns rise in Manipur as warring groups acquire rockets and drones, prompting MHA investigation and countermeasures.

The latest additions to the arsenal of warring Kuki-Zo and Meitei groups in Manipur, which are crude, unguided rockets with potential ranges of up to 5-6 km, has created a flutter in the security establishment. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a multi-stakeholder expert committee to investigate the incident which has wider ramifications, according to sources in the security establishment.

The rockets are in addition to the hexacopter drones which both sides have now acquired to drop bombs and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), in a significant escalation of the crisis which began in May 2023.

“An expert committee set up by the MHA has been on the ground, and a report has since been submitted,” two sources confirmed. While full details of the report were not immediately available, sources said one of the observations in the report was that the long range rockets were fired from Kuki dominated areas in August.

“These are crude projectiles assembled locally with sugar and fertilizer stuffed into metal pipes. They were fired by Kuki-Zo groups in August, which they have been attempting since December,” a source in the know said. These are dumb bombs and can fall anywhere, the source said adding that while these projectiles had no major impact so far, the potential for escalation was significant.

The Kuki-Zo groups began developing them after a clash in May 2023 between armed Kuki groups and People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a Manipuri insurgent group based in Myanmar territory, when the latter used 82 mm mortar, sources said.

In the last few weeks, Valley-based Insurgent Groups (VBIG) too managed to procure similar long range crude rockets, though they have not been used so far, sources said citing intelligence inputs. These were procured from the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the armed wing of the exiled National Unity Government in Myanmar that has been fighting the military Junta.

Officials sources when contacted confirmed the development but declined to comment further. On the use of drones by both the sides, an official source said security forces have now deployed counter-drone systems in some numbers to address the situation in addition to other measures.