Two CRPF CoBRA battalions, comprising 2,000 commandos, are being deployed in Manipur to conduct operations against armed groups. The elite jungle warfare units will assist state police in seizing illegal arms and restoring normalcy in the state.
Two battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit will begin operations against armed miscreants in Manipur as part of the Centre’s efforts to strengthen security and restore lasting peace in the violence-hit state.
After the declaration of Naxal-free India at the end of March this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had moved the two CoBRA battalions–207 Battalion based in West Bengal and 210 Battalion based in Assam–to undertake specific operations against armed groups involved in violence in the state.
Operational Mandate and Priorities
Comprising around 2,000 commandos, the specialised jungle warfare units will operate from designated hubs and respond to incidents or undertake operations on the requisition of the Manipur Police, officials close to security establishments told ANI. They said, “Seizure of illegal arms and ammunition, demolition of bunkers used by armed groups, identification of ambush points and area domination will be among the key priorities of the operations of the CoBRA units.”
The commandos have completed three weeks of pre-induction operational training followed by a week-long familiarisation programme before being sent for operational duties in Manipur.
Revised SOPs Amid Heightened Security
Besides conducting counter-insurgency operations, the CoBRA battalions will also assist the state administration and other central armed police forces in restoring normalcy. The CoBRA units will move in bulletproof vehicles and follow revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), with particular emphasis on avoiding unnecessary exposure and stray movement during operations. The SOPs are changed amid heightened security concerns following a violent mob attack on an Assam Rifles camp in Senapati town on the night of July 14. The mob torched vehicles and vandalised property after an anti-insurgency operation near the Oklong area against suspected armed cadres. Security forces used tear gas and fired blank rounds to disperse the crowd, and no casualties were reported.
The incident followed a deadly ambush on July 6 in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, where unidentified gunmen attacked an Assam Rifles patrol, killing two personnel and injuring several others.
Jungle Warfare Specialists Tapped for Manipur
Officials said the Centre decided to deploy the specialised CoBRA units in the Northeast after Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxal was significantly curbed across central and eastern India. Trained in jungle warfare and guerrilla tactics, the CoBRA commandos are expected to play a crucial role in operations in Manipur’s rugged and forested terrain.
Force History and Success Against Extremism
The CoBRA force was raised by the CRPF in 2008-09 to combat Left Wing Extremism and insurgency. The specialised force has earned recognition for its intelligence-based jungle warfare operations that contributed significantly to weakening Maoist violence in the country.
Part of Broader Peace Efforts
The deployment of CoBRA in Manipur is part of ongoing efforts by the Central government and the Manipur administration to restore lasting peace in the state, where ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023 has claimed more than 260 lives and displaced thousands of people. The recent incidents of violence between the Kuki and the Naga communities have escalated the tensions.
Apart from the two CoBRA battalions, around 200 CRPF companies, nearly 100 Border Security Force (BSF) companies, five Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) companies and six Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) companies are currently deployed across Manipur. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)