Efforts to restore peace in strife-hit Jiribam district of Manipur received a huge boost with representatives from the Meitei and Hmar communities agreeing to “make full efforts to bring normalcy” by preventing “incidents of arson and firing”.

Apart from going all out to bring normalcy, the representatives of the Hmar and the Meitei communities also agreed to extend “full cooperation to all security forces operating in Jiribam; to facilitate controlled and coordinated movement” of people from either side and to hold the next meeting after August 15. Hmars are part of the greater Zo community which also includes the Kukis, Mizos, Paites and Thadous.

Representatives of the Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities also participated in the meeting held on Thursday at a “neutral” venue: the CRPF Group Centre at Dayapur in neighbouring Assam’s Cachar district. According to a joint statement released after the meeting, nine CSOs representing the affected groups had participated in the meeting.

This was the second such meeting facilitated by the Jiribam district administration and security forces to find a way to restore peace. The first was held on July 1.

Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh had told the Assembly on Thursday that a peace meeting was on in Silchar but did not elaborate while speaking on the IDP situation in the state and the police action on protesting IDPs earlier in the day.

Violence rocked Jiribam district on July 6 following the abduction and subsequent killing of a 59-year-old Meitei man by miscreants, leading to the displacement of over 2000 persons from both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities.

Till Thursday, 768 people from both affected communities, are living in eight relief camps in Jiribam town. Several hundreds had alsofled to the Lakhipur sub-division of Cachar in neighbouring Assam.

Apart from the DC and Senior SP of Jiribam, the DIG, CRPF; Commandant, 39 Assam Rifles and Commandant, 87 Bn CRPF, were present in the meeting.

An official from Jiribam told The Telegraph that Thursday meeting’s decisions were a “breakthrough of sorts” and were hoping both sides will work towards ushering in peace. “If successful, it will also give a boost to peace efforts to resolve the overall unrest in the state,” he said.

Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma also pushed for peace talks to resolve the Manipur unrest during his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday. “He (Lalduhoma) requested the Union Home Minister to arrange a meeting with the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), which represents all tribal communities in Manipur,” a press communiqué issued by the Mizoram CMO on Friday evening said. The ITLF is a conglomerate of recognised Kuki-Zo tribes based out of Churachandpur district.

The ongoing Manipur has claimed 226 lives. Nearly 60,000 are taking shelter in 302 relief camps in the state.