Naga groups call off Manipur blockade

Naga groups on Monday agreed to suspend a two-month-long blockade of a vital highway that has caused food and fuel shortages in the troubled northeastern state of Manipur.
The Naga Students Federation, one of the main groups behind the blockade, announced the suspension after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on the same day the government announced it would send troops to end the standoff.
Tribal groups from Nagaland blocked supplies to neighbouring Manipur, home to more than 2.5 million people, for preventing their separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah from visiting his birthplace.
Insurgency has long plagued Manipur as well and dozens of tribal insurgent groups still exist, though violence levels in the region have fallen.
The Manipur stand-off is seen as a new security headache for the central government which is already struggling with a growing Maoist insurgency.
The Nagas have been fighting Indian forces for a free Nagalim state carved out of the northeastern region, including parts of Manipur.