Manipur's Arambai Tenggol Surrenders Firearms, Ask Security Forces To Ensure Safety Of Civilians

The Arambai Tenggol (AT), a Meitei youth group that took up arms after ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May 2023, today surrendered their weapons on the last day of Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla's one-week deadline to deposit looted and illegally held weapons. The AT says it was a cultural organisation that was compelled to take up arms as "village volunteers" due to ineffective law enforcement in the early days of the ethnic violence; it says lack of law enforcement led to Meitei villages in the foothills coming under attacks from Kuki militants. Armed civilians from the Kuki tribes who call themselves "volunteers" have also surrendered some weapons.