On 20 February, the governor had urged people living in both the valley and the hills to surrender their weapons within seven days or face “strict action.” According to media reports, more than 4,000 weapons were looted from police armouries and other locations during the ethnic conflict.On Thursday, Arambai Tenggol members carried the weapons to the Manipur Rifles battalion in a convoy of mini-trucks and handed them over to the authorities in the presence of senior police officials.The surrender followed a meeting on Tuesday between the governor and an Arambai Tenggol delegation. The group submitted a memorandum to Bhalla demanding the fencing of the Manipur-Myanmar border, the implementation of the National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year, the deportation of illegal immigrants, the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations pact signed with Kuki insurgent groups, and the destruction of poppy plantations.The ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis, which erupted on 3 May 2023, has so far left over 250 people dead and displaced 60,000 others. A large number of the displaced continue to live in relief camps.
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