Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Thirteen members of the banned Meitei insurgent group Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL) were arrested from Bishupur district, 45 km from Imphal, in an operation by the Manipur Police and central forces, officials said.

The KYLK insurgents were found operating at Moirang Kiyam Leikai, a residential area near the northeast’s largest freshwater lake, Loktak, in Moirang town.

The arrested men have been taken to a police station in Imphal for interrogation, officials said.

Manipur is under the President’s rule, after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned and his council of ministers also disbanded.

The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis in Manipur have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Insurgents from both communities are involved in the violence, the heads of central security forces have said. Many have been arrested by the police and central forces in the last one year.

Seven suspected militants of the Kuki National Army (KNA), which is a signatory to the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, and over four militants of the Meitei group Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group), or KCP (PWG), were arrested last week.

The security forces have stepped up patrolling and are working to disarm civilians from the warring communities who have taken up arms under the name of “volunteers” in Manipur.