Factional killings continue unabated in Nagaland

By Vibou Ganguly

Kohima, May 6 : Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland, has become a killing field of sorts on account of the factional killings which continues unabated.

In the last 48 hours, six people have been killed, including a student.

The bullet riddled body of the student of the Patkai Christian College, Dimapur, who hailed from Manipur's Ukhrul District was recovered by police from the Ghorapatty area of the town.

Dimapur and its surrounding areas are dominated by the Sumi Tribe which happens to be the backbone of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-Unification).

On Sunday, two Unification cadres were killed by its rival Isak Muivah (IM) group at Merapani, a disputed area on the Assam-Nagaland border.

The Unification group took a decision on May 4 to go against the Tangkhuls under the command of V Tuccu, Akato Chophy and Keyakhu. The NSCN (U) is determined to have an upper hand in NSCN (IM) dominated Tangkhuls from Ukhrul District.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NSCN (IM) said the killings in Dimapur were the beginning of an ethnic cleansing operation launched by the Unification group.

ANI