Use of drones and rockets by Kuki-Zo militants in the conflict

Oinam Nabakishore Singh *

It is normal to resort to the use of the best weapon at one’s disposal in any war to defeat the enemy. In the war of Kurukshetra between the Pandavs and Kauravs as narrated in the Mahabharat, there were instances of use of the most powerful weapon against the opponent with the sole aim of killing the opponent.

Ashwathama, the son of great Acharya Dronacharya, when faced with an angry great archer, Arjuna, took a straw from the thatch of the Ashram and invoked mantras to call the invincible Brahmastra and released it against Arjuna.

During the second World War, the United States of America dropped deadly atom bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, which were used as military camps by Japan, to cause the worst devastation. Japan was brought to its knees and forced to surrender.

The use of high-tech drones to drop bombs at Koutruk on the 1st September, 2024 by the Kuki-Zo militants on the civilian populations causing death and destruction reveals the capability of the Kuki militants to adopt lethal and advanced technologies in aerial strikes.

The said attack was a premediated and coordinated one as evident from the launch of similar attacks at other places like Sinam, Senjam Chirang, Yaingangpokpi and other areas in Bishenpur and Kakching districts. A number of drones were also seen in the sky in the night at several places.

Drones have been extensively used in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Israel on one side and Iran and Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas on the other side. More than one hundred drones launched by Iran on Israel were intercepted and shot down by Israel before hitting the targets.

Anti-drone and anti-missile air defence system called Iron Dome was developed in Israel with financial assistance from the United States of America and it has been put into operation since 2011. The war between Russia and Ukraine has seen extensive use of drones to drop bombs at the targets. A variety of drones are available in the market with a wide range of capabilities and range.

More interesting is the fact that drones are also assembled by amateurs as a hobby as components are widely available in the market. There was a report of seizure of smart batteries to be used in assembly of drones by the police of neighboring State, Assam. It was indicated that those batteries were bound for Manipur.

It is also in the knowledge of all that the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar are using drones fitted with bombs against the military camps and other targets effectively at negligible costs. Components of drones are made locally in the hideouts of the armed groups by using 3D printing technologies. Drone pilots are effectively delivering drones fitted with bombs at the targets with great accuracy.

It is possible to learn the know-how of drone bombing by the Kuki-Zo militants from their brethren in Myanmar. Otherwise too, it is not rocket science to fit bombs with commercial drones which are widely available online on e-com-merce sites like amazon.

It may be expected that more and more drones will be used by all parties involved in the conflict considering their affordability, adaptability, effectiveness in causing extensive damage and casualty on the targets.

The recent bombing in residential areas of Moirang and Tronglaobi by improvised GI pipes propelled by explosives with great accuracy to hit targets over a distance of about five kilometers is a testimony of the advancement in development of rockets by the Kuki-Zo militants.

Designing a GI Pipe into a lethal rocket to carry a warhead, a bomb, getting the latter exploded on impact, choice of right propellant to push the rocket forward in the right direction to achieve the desired range requires considerable technological know-how. It seems that Kuki-Zo militants have succeeded in their endeavor to develop and deliver fairly long range rockets to hit targets.

The instances of bombing at Koutruk and Kadangband by using drones, Moirang and Tronglaobi by using rockets should be taken seriously by all especially by the security apparatus of the Centre and the State. It is expected that more similar bombings will follow in the future causing more civilian casualty and damage.

In the aftermath of the drone attacks, the State Government of Manipur constituted a committee to look into the incidents of drone attacks. Visuals of the attacks at Koutruk, dropping of bombs from the drones from a certain height, exact dropping of bomb on the structure where village volunteers were housed, remains of the rocket propelled grenades found at the sites of bombing will prove beyond doubt that Kuki-Zo militants are well equipped to deliver lethal bombs in the range of the drones.

Drones having greater range will enable them to drop bombs at more distant places. Imphal City may be within the strike range of drones of the Kuki-Zo militants as drones were witnessed hovering over many places in the valley.

What is crucial at this point in time is the response of both Central and State forces to the looming danger posed by the Kuki-Zo militants, who are already equipped with weaponized drones and rockets capable of carrying warheads to the targets. Even though some media channels said that drone attacks are threat to National security, the concerned authority of both the Governments have not made any specific statement as to the security threat.

While the bombing with drone may not be a security threat to the Nation, it is evident that it is a severe threat to the civilian population in the State irrespective of position held. It may not be preposterous to say that the highest offices of Raj Bhawan and Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Imphal are no longer safe from drone or rocket attacks from Kuki-Zo militants.

In the aftermath of drone attacks at Koutruk, some choppers of Indian Army were seen to be hovering in the foothills perhaps to locate the bunkers or hideouts of Kuki-Zo militants who used drone to drop bombs. It is possible that some valuable information was collected through the reconnaissance. The same is not made public for security reasons.

The question that arises in the mind of many discerning citizens in the State is that will the Central and State forces should remain a mute spectator when innocent citizens are under attack ? Will not they venture out to the hideouts and villages to nab the culprits as mandated by the criminal laws including Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act?

Is it sufficient just to file an FIR for such heinous acts of war causing death and disaster in the civilian population without making any effort to bring the culprits to book ? The State police came up with the idea of procurement of anti-drone devices to intercept or disable the drones. If that is the solution, how many such devices are to be procured by the State ?

Another suggestion to disable drone is use of jammers, whose frequency would interfere with the frequency of the drones. Before choosing a system to counter an attack, it is incumbent to look at the most cost-effective and feasible solution.

In case the authority concerned is serious enough about attacks using drones and rockets, the most effective approach will be to disarm the militants of the weapons including drones and rockets to prevent further assaults. It is not that difficult for the Central forces to launch a combing operation on both sides to seize the weapons if they are serious enough to stop the ongoing escalating conflict.

The so-called buffer zone in the peripheries are no longer able to prevent attacks and counter attacks on either side. Kuki-Zo militants have adopted aerial attacks to bypass buffer zones guarded by the Central forces. They are always on the lookout to find gaps in the preventive measures of the Government forces.

In the past, they penetrated the security ring of the army to kill four innocent civilians at the isolated fields at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou in Bishnupur district. It is expected that the Meitei village volunteers will try to procure and assemble drones too to drop bombs in the civil populations in Kuki-Zo villages. The major brunt of the escalation in the conflict will be borne by the innocent civilians.

Because of the division of State police and State armed police divided on community lines, their deployment to counter the conflict is limited to their respective areas. It is the Central forces, who are in a position to undertake any combing operation to disarm the militants and prevent further escalation of the conflict.

However, there appears to be no seriousness on the part of the central forces to do what is called for by the situation. It is also apparent that the State Government is not willing to correctly convey the state of affairs for fear of getting the blame for failure to maintain law and order in the State.

Unfortunately, innocent civilians are caught in the cross fire of the conflict. One only hopes that the Central Government is awakened of the portent of further loss of lives in Manipur.