Kolkata, Sep 19 (IANS): The Army, along with Manipur Police, averted a major disaster in Manipur on Thursday by recovering seven Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The total weight of the explosives in these IEDs was 28.5 kg.

The IEDs were buried and set to detonate on receiving appropriate signals.

Army's Eastern Command, headquartered at Fort William in Kolkata, said that the ensuing explosions could have caused severe damage to life and property.

"The Army and Manipur Police acted on intelligence inputs near the Bongjang and Itham villages in the Imphal East district. This is a hilly terrain. Explosives detection dogs of the Army were pressed into service and the IEDs were diffused by experts of the Army Engineers. There could have been a major loss of life of innocent civilians, had the IEDs not been recovered," the Ministry of Defence spokesperson in Kolkata stated.

The entire state of Manipur has been in a restive state since May 3, 2023, when ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis from the valley districts and the Kuki-Zos from the hills.

This was pertaining to a Manipur high court observation, asking the government to consider the Scheduled Tribe status of the Meiteis, who are a majority in the state but occupy far less land than the tribal Kukis. This observation was later struck down by the Supreme Court.

Over the last 16 months though, hundreds of lives have been lost in Manipur due to the ethnic strife and thousands of people have been shifted to relief camps.

After a few months of calm, violence erupted once again in Manipur since August, with suspected militant outfits from the Hills using automatic weapons, improvised mortars and even drones to target security forces and civilians. Additional forces were rushed to the state following this resurgence of strikes.

According to the release issued by the MoD, the recovery of the seven IEDs is the second major haul over the last three months. On July 20, 2024, eight IEDs weighing 33 Kgs were recovered in the hilly areas of Saichang Itham, Imphal East and neutralised by the bomb disposal teams of the Indian Army

"The swift response of the Indian Army in sync with the Manipur Police has once again exhibited seamless coordination between the security forces operating in the state and also ensured the safety and security of the region, sending a strong message to anti-national elements," the release stated.