Manipur Reported 77% Of Total Violent Incidents In Northeast Since 2024: MHA Report
Compared to 2014, there has been a 64% reduction in insurgency incidents till 2025, and security forces casualties have dropped by 85%, the report said.
Published : March 31, 2026 at 5:16 PM IST
New Delhi: Weeks after the formation of a new government in Manipur, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the state has registered the maximum violent incidents in the Northeast region, accounting for 77% of the total violent incidents since 2024.
According to an assessment by the ministry on internal security in the Northeast, Manipur registered 226 cases against 294 cases reported in the entire Northeast since 2024.
MHA said that although Arunachal Pradesh does not have any active insurgent groups, it is affected by the spill-over insurgency of factions of NSCN and ULFA (Independent) in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. "The United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) [ULFA(I)] is also presently active in some parts of Assam," the MHA report viewed by ETV Bharat said on Assam.
The report, however, highlights that due to considerable improvement in the security situation of the Northeast, imposition of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), 1958, has been significantly reduced. As of April 1, 2025, AFSPA is applicable only in Tirap, Changlang, and Longding of Arunachal Pradesh. AFSPA, additionally, applies to a few areas within the Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh.
In Assam, it is applicable in only three districts. In Nagaland, it is applicable in nine districts and 21 police stations under five other districts. In Manipur, it has been revoked from 13 police stations of five districts. Further, it is completely revoked from Tripura and Meghalaya.
According to the report, the security situation in the Northeastern states, however, has improved substantially since 2014. "Compared to 2014, there has been a 64% reduction in insurgency incidents till 2025. Similarly, during this period, casualties in security forces have come down by 85% and civilian deaths by 86%," it added.
Manipur
MHA said Manipur is affected by the activities of Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Zomi, and Hmar insurgent groups. "During 2024, Manipur witnessed continued incidents related to insurgency. The situation was further aggravated by the prevailing ethnic strife between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 2023, resulting in the loss of 33 civilians and security force personnel. The counterinsurgency operations resulted in the killing of 23 insurgents and the arrest of 386 insurgents with the recovery of 119 weapons," the report stated.
In 2024-2025, a total of 294 insurgency-related incidents were registered in the Northeast region, in which 30 civilians and 3 security force personnel lost their lives. Counterinsurgency operations led to neutralisation of 31 insurgents, arrest of 571 rebels and recovery of 220 arms in the region. A total of 975 cadres of various insurgent outfits of the Northeast surrendered with 184 arms and joined the mainstream of society, the report stated.
Assam
Except for the active presence of only one insurgent outfit, the ULFA(I), the state, by and large, remained peaceful. The proscribed outfit attacked the security force personnel in Upper Assam's Tinsukia, injuring four police personnel of Assam police. The state government signed several peace pacts with a few insurgent outfits in the last few years that yielded the atmosphere of peace in the region, the report stated.
Nagaland
In 2024-25, there were 42 insurgency-related incidents in Nagaland with zero casualties either of civilian or security force personnel. Further, four insurgents have been neutralised, 144 rebels were arrested, and 82 arms and ammunition have been recovered from them, the report added. Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura remained, by and large, peaceful, the report stated further.
Fresh Threat Looms Large
An analysis by Delhi-based security think tank Centre for North East India Security Studies (CNEISS) said an alliance between the ULFA-I, a tribal armed group from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) may create major turmoil in the northeast.
"If this alliance between these groups are not effectively addressed, the entire region may witness turmoil. The first major attack on the Assam Police since 2021 by the ULFA-I on March 22 indicates a change in its policies following a two-day marathon meeting on December 9–11 at Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh among ULFA(I), PCJSS, ARSA and RSO, facilitated by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) of Bangladesh and Pakistan's ISI," CNEISS advisor Swapan Debbarma told ETV Bharat.
He warned that more deadly attacks leading up to the April 9, 2026, elections can be expected if security in Assam is not tightened.
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