Context: Recently, Union Home Minister announced the signing of a peace agreement with the Meitei separatist group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in Manipur.

About UNLF

• The UNLF, formed on November 24, 1964, is the oldest valley-based insurgent group (VBIG) in Manipur, distinct from the insurgent groups active in the state’s Naga-dominated and Kuki-Zomi dominated hills.

• It was formed by Khalanlang Kamei as president, Thangkhopao Singsit as vice president and A Somarendro Singh as general secretary.

Objective

• The UNLF had a long-term program to secede from India, form alliances mainly with China, and gradually capture political power with the help of an indoctrinated young population and the intelligentsia.

• Their goal included reclaiming the Kabow Valley in Myanmar.

Split

• The UNLF underwent a split in the mid-1990s, creating the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) faction.

• There was another split in 2021, when Pambei broke away from the rest of the central committee.

Training and operation

• The UNLF is believed to have received its initial training from the NSCN (IM), the largest Naga insurgent group.

• Its armed wing, the Manipur People’s Army, was formed in 1990 and has carried out multiple attacks targeting Indian security personnel over the years.

• Its area of operation includes all the valley areas of Manipur, as well as some villages in the Kuki-Zomi hill districts.

• While the UNLF has weakened over the years and moved across the border to Myanmar, concerns have arisen about its increased activity, along with other VBIG, during the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.

Base of operation

• A banned group under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, UNLF has largely operated from camps and training bases in Myanmar's Sagaing Region, Chin state, and Rakhine state with the support of the Myanmar military.

• It is now on the backfoot there, with mounting attacks against the military junta by various Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs).