Three units of CoBRA arrive in Manipur

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jun 6 : Marking its debut in Manipur, three units of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) have arrived in the State.
Each unit has a maximum strength of 130 personnel.
Notably, the Ministry of Home Affairs had a few days back sanctioned the mobilisation of two CoBRA Battalions, one each from Assam and West Bengal, for operational duties in Manipur.
Each CoBRA battalion has a strength of about 1,000 commandos.
Sources said the elite force will first undergo orientation and basic training on Manipur's terrain and topography after all personnel of the two Battalions reach the State.
Another source said that the CoBRA units are unlikely to commence operations anytime soon.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the proposal of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deploy two CoBRA Battalions in Manipur, Battalion no 207 based in West Bengal and 210 located in Assam-- for operational duties, PTI reported a few days back.
Coinciding with the development, Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Gyanendra Pratap Singh, met Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla yesterday and discussed the prevailing security situation in Manipur.
CoBRA has traditionally been deployed in Maoist-affected States, where it specialises in counter-insurgency operations and the dismantling of insurgent networks in dense forest areas.
The move comes amid a complex security environment in Manipur.
A report by Times of India added that the 210 Battalion CoBRA, previously stationed in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh and adjudged the best operational battalion last year for gunning down 95 Maoists, had been picked for deployment alongside another crack unit, 207 Battalion CoBRA in Manipur. They are expected to start their new assignment before the start of monsoon.
Manipur had barely got a respite from the Meitei-Kuki conflict since May 2023 when a stand off at Litan in Ukhrul district on February 7 opened a new flashpoint. An attack by some Kuki tribals on a Tangkhul Naga youth spiralled into arson and retaliatory violence, drawing the Naga community into the ethnic cauldron.
Two months of Naga-Kuki clashes have seen villages burned down and attacks by armed groups.
The killing of three Church leaders of the Thadou Baptist Association on May 13 at a spot deemed to be a stronghold of a Kuki militant group led to a spate of abductions. Around 20 hostages - 14 Kukis and six Nagas - remain in captivity. While the fate of the 14 Kukis is known to all, the fate of the six Naga men is not yet known.
The Kukis struck first, abducting 18 Naga people at Leilon Vaiphei village and the Nagas in a retaliatory move rounded up the 14 Kuki people. Of the 18 Naga people abducted, all the women were set free while the 6 Naga men were kept in captivity.
This led to the Kuki Inpi-Manipur imposing a total shutdown in Kuki dominated places, which stranded a number of goods laden trucks on the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway. The UNC had also imposed a district blockade, effectively blocking the flow of goods to Kuki dominated places.  Things have taken a turn for the worse with the killing of three Kuki people, including a husband and his wife and another person at Loibol Khullen Kuki village in Kangpokpi district in the wee hours of June 5. While the Kuki Inpi, Manipur has accused the NSCN (IM) and the ZUF (Kamson) for the killings, the NSCN (IM) had flatly refuted the charges.