Imphal, May 20 (IANS) The Central and state security forces on Wednesday continued joint search operations in Manipur’s Kangpokpi, Senapati and adjoining districts for the eighth consecutive day to rescue those still being held hostage by armed groups, officials said.

A senior police official said that rigorous combing and search operations are being continued by the security forces to rescue the missing persons at the hill ranges surrounding Leilon Vaiphei village, Songtun village, Khunkho village and P. Molding village of Kangpokpi district.

“Manipur state police Commandos and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are jointly conducting the search operations in both Kangpokpi and Senapati districts,” the official told the media.

More than 40 people belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities were held hostage by various groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts following the killing of three Baptist church leaders and the injuring of four others in Kangpokpi district on May 13.

However, 30 people belonging to both communities were released on May 14 and 15 following sustained efforts by the authorities, community leaders, and various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the official said.

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh informed a delegation of Naga community leaders that the state police and CRPF personnel are conducting intensive combing operations in suspected areas to trace the missing villagers.

Appealing for calm at this critical juncture, the Chief Minister said the state government is making all-out efforts to defuse the tense situation and restore peace in the hill areas.

He urged all communities to shun violence and cooperate with the government in bringing back peace, harmony, and normalcy in the state.

Meanwhile, a ten-member team of church leaders, since Tuesday are visiting Naga-inhabited Senapati district as part of their efforts to defuse the ongoing ethnic tensions between the Naga and Kuki tribal communities. The church leaders on Monday held a meeting with Chief Minister Singh and discussed the ethnic crisis in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts.

A Manipur government official said that during the visit, the church leaders met representatives of the United Naga Council (UNC), the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO), and other civil society organisations at the UNC office in Senapati district. The meeting focused on the prevailing tense situation between the two tribal communities in the region. Deliberations were also held on ways to ease the current crisis arising out of the hostage incident following the killing of three church leaders on May 13.

Following the interaction, the church leaders strongly appealed for the unconditional release of hostages from both sides on humanitarian grounds. The ten-member delegation comprised church leaders representing the Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC), the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India (CBCNEI), the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), and the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

–IANS

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