Imphal: Hundreds of angry residents swarmed the roads in Imphal East today. They blocked traffic in Keibi and Uyumpok to stop the Pambei-led United National Liberation Front from moving their camp out of Nongsum. The group established the site in 2023 to shield local Meitei villages from ethnic violence. Now, the military wing is packing up.
Authorities ordered the move because the Nongsum site was not an officially designated camp under ongoing peace talks with the Indian government. Troops from the 10th India Reserve Battalion moved in to secure the area as the fighters departed. Tensions spiked when police fired tear gas shells to push back crowds trying to physically block the convoy.
Local MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh and a state Home Department official arrived to calm the scene. They promised the villagers that security would hold, even with the camp gone. "Adequate security arrangements would be made," the officials claimed during the heated talks. Still, many locals refuse to back down. They want the fighters to stay until the region returns to normal.
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