Imphal: Chief Minister Biren Singh said on Sunday that his government condemns attacks on unarmed civilians, especially in peripheral districts of the valley area in Manipur.
Briefing media persons at Darbar Hall, Singh said the government is deeply saddened by casualties in the remote areas of the valley and assured all possible help in bringing back normalcy.
The Chief Minister said, “The spurt in violent attacks on civilian houses in the peripheral areas of the valley in the past one or two days, which seemed well-planned, is strongly condemnable, especially when Minister of State Shri Nityanand Rai is in the state and group peace missions are being formed as part of efforts to bring back peace in the state.”
Promising to face every challenge against the territorial integrity of the state, Singh said that those involved in the violent attacks on civilians are threatening to disrupt Manipur’s efforts for peace and that they are enemies of all the 34 communities residing in Manipur. He also appealed to all 34 communities to trust the government, saying the government will not allow the disintegration of Manipur and protect the state’s territorial integrity and uproot these armed terrorists from the state.
He further said the fight is between armed terrorists trying to disintegrate Manipur and the state government assisted by the Centre. He assured the public that the state force is well-trained and well-equipped.
The CM, accompanied by his cabinet Ministers during the press briefing, also appealed to the civilian population who are joining protests to stop disrupting the movement of commandos and security forces.
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Appealing to the people to support and pray for the commandos, security forces and to encourage them, the CM also said that the state force is directly under the Home department and that they are free from restrictions. Apart from 38 vulnerable areas previously identified, other vulnerable areas have also been identified and the state police is conducting operations, he said.
“In retaliatory and defensive operations against these terrorist groups who are using sophisticated arms against the civilian population, around 30 of these terrorists have been killed in different areas and a few have also been arrested by the security forces,” Singh added.
The press briefing was attended by cabinet ministers Thongam Biswajit Singh, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Govindas Konthoujam Singh, Awangbou Newmai, Dr. Sapam Ranjan Singh, Leishangthem Susindro Meitei, Thounaojam Basanta Singh, and Kashim Vashum.
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