Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Representatives of the Meitei community and the Hmar tribe held a peace meeting in Manipur’s Jiribam today, and agreed to work for normalcy nearly two months after ethnic violence reached the district bordering Assam.

The district commissioner, and senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Assam Rifles (AR) moderated the meeting at the CRPF group centre, the representatives said in a statement jointly signed by them.

Both sides will make full efforts to bring normalcy and prevent incidents of arson and firing, they said in the statement. The two sides also agreed to cooperate with security forces in Jiribam, and to ensure controlled and coordinated movement of people.

Another meeting will be held after August 15, they said in the statement.

Representatives of the Paite, Thadou and Mizo tribes living in Jiribam also participated in the meeting, the statement said.

Jiribam, 250 km from the state capital Imphal, didn’t see violence for over a year since Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence began in May 2023; however, clashes erupted in the district in June, forcing over a thousand people from both the communities to live in relief camps, some in neighbouring Assam.

A CRPF soldier was killed in action on July 14 after a joint patrol with the state police was ambushed by “suspected Kuki insurgents” in Jiribam, the Manipur Police had said in a statement.

Hmar civil society groups had alleged Meitei insurgents had been attacking their villages in Jiribam.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh yesterday said in the assembly 226 people have died in the violence, and 59,000 have been internally displaced.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.