Manipur CM N Biren Singh on Friday informed that 212 citizens belonging to the Meitei community taking shelter at Myanmar following the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state have returned to Manipur after 3 months.

Informing about the return of the Meitei citizens, giving credits to the Indian Army for it, via a post on X, Singh wrote, “Relief and gratitude as 212 fellow Indian citizens (all Meiteis) who sought safety across the Myanmar border post the May 3rd unrest in Moreh town of Manipur, are now safely back on Indian soil."

“A big shout-out to the Indian Army for their dedication in bringing them home. Sincere gratitude to GOC Eastern Command, Lt Gen. RP Kalita, GOC 3 Corp, Lt Gen. HS Sahi and CO of 5 AR, Col. Rahul Jain for their unwavering service."

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the residents belonging to Moreh's ward number 4 Premnagar had fled towards Myanmar after crossing the India-Myanmar international border on May 3 and had taken shelter in Tamua area of Sagaing division.

On May 3, a peaceful rally was organised by All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) condemning the Scheduled Tribe status demand by the majority Meitei community of the state which is when violence broke out in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district.

According to the social media posts, the Meitei community started the violence demolishing the tribal's houses, vehicles which resulted in clashes between the the tribals and the Meitei community and displaced over 70,000 people from their villages and over 100 fatalities reported.