Imphal, 31 Dec

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday apologised for the ethnic conflict in the state which claimed over 250 lives and rendered thousands homeless, and appealed to all communities to forget and forgive past mistakes and live together in a peaceful and prosperous state.

Addressing reporters here, Singh said that there has been relative peace in the state in the last three-four months, which gives him hope that normalcy will be restored in the new year.

"I want to say sorry for what happened in the state. Many people lost their loved ones and many had to leave their homes. I regret and want to apologise. But after seeing relative peace in the last three-four months, I hope that normalcy will be restored in the coming year.

"Whatever happened has happened... I want to appeal to all communities to forgive and forget our past mistakes and start life afresh by living together in a peaceful and prosperous Manipur," he said.

Singh said firing incidents have declined in the state over the last 20 months since the ethnic conflict began in May 2023.

"From May to October, 2023, 408 firing incidents were reported. From November 2023 to April 2024, there were 345 firing incidents, whereas from May this year till now, 112 firing incidents were reported," he said.

He said that of all the looted weapons, 3,112 have been recovered and 2,511 explosives have been seized during the period.

The chief minister further said that 625 people have been arrested and 12,047 FIRs registered so far.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.