At least 14 Naga rebels were killed in a fierce gun battle between two factions of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim at the outskirts of Dimapur town in Nagaland at 10 am on Friday.
The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father.
The NSCN-IM delegation, led by senior leader V S Atem, met interlocutor A K Mishra at an undisclosed location in the national capital.
Nagas have now a much better understanding with the people of India, NSCN (I-M) chairman Isak Chisi Swu said after meeting George Fernandes.
There were indications that the ceasefire could be extended only for six months, unlike last July's one year.
'When she is on screen, you can't take your eyes off her.'
'They have come here to protect people, but the allegation is that they help the armed organisations attack and burn down the houses of the Meiteis.' 'Many people have lost faith in the central forces as they believe these forces are involved in the escalation of the problem.'
Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence, according to leaders from the community.
Frustration continues to mount over the prolonged mobile internet suspension with a Senapati district-based Naga students body imposing highway blockade over the issue since October 5.
'I appeal to the Government of India to hasten the peace process,' he said.
The first firing which killed six civilians, occurred when army personnel mistook coal mine workers returning home in a pick-up van singing songs on Saturday evening, to be insurgents belonging to the Yung Aung faction of the banned outfit National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), about whose movements they had been tipped-off.
Zeliang, however, was unfazed saying he would continue to remain the NPF leader in the House.
The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), a militant outfit currently in a state of truce with the government, is providing help and shelter to cadres of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom in Naga villages.According to police sources, the ULFA cadres have found safe haven in Mon district of Nagaland with the help of NSCN-K militants.The ULFA militants often cross the border and flee to Nagaland after carrying out operations within Assam.
Bose, who was earlier a Lok Sabha MP, pointed out in an interview to PTI that members of all the three communities had joined Netaji's INA in 1944 and fought shoulder to shoulder in the battlefields of Bishnupur and Ukhrul districts in an advance into India.
The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the operation on Tuesday after hearing the differing viewpoints presented by the home and defence ministries on the necessity of such an operation against the Issac-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the NSCN. The CCS has backed the home ministry view that the Army needs to intervene and clear the two districts of armed militants from both the rival factions
Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Centre's interlocutor for the Naga peace process, K Padmanabhaiah, is holding talks with National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) in Bangkok for the second time since the Manmohan Singh government took over.
'I don't know whether on voting day there will be intimidation from some militant groups to vote for a particular person and then force them from voting for another in the stronghold of the candidate which does not favour them, or, force them not to come out for voting.' 'Anything is possible.'
Apart from Aboh's son, the deceased included some other family members of the MLA.
'The fact that NSCN leaders are here in India for talks is a very positive development,' says Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga.
This comes after 10 Kuki MLAs, cutting across party affiliations, had expressed their inability to attend the assembly session as violence in the northeastern state continued.
Gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived in camouflage dresses in the Lilong Chingjao area, and opened fire targeting locals, they said.
The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.
Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Issac-Munivah wanted to join the operations against NSCN-K militants.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
Refuting the Army's contention that the incident was a result of mistaken identity, he said, "The ambush site was barely few metres away from the coal mining site and the villages are nearby. How could they lay an ambush so close to civilian residences?"
The ongoing peace talks between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM leadership and the Government of India have reached a 'sensitive stage' and efforts are on to iron out a longstanding solution to the over six decades old Naga political problem, observed P Chidambaram in his last press conference as the home minister.
'Unfortunately, there is no movement towards peace in Manipur.'
The Manipur high court has directed the state government to operationalise mobile towers, on a trial basis, in all those district headquarters which have not been affected by ethnic strife.
The Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief also said India is giving shelter to anyone from Myanmar seeking refuge, including common villagers, army or police, in Mizoram and Manipur, but not armed cadres of militant groups of drug traffickers.
Governor P B Acharya on Tuesday directed Speaker Imtiwapang to summon an emergent special session of the state assembly.
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
The ruling People's Democratic Party on Tuesday welcomed the "historic peace accord" between the Centre and Nagaland's National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM, saying a similar approach was needed in Kashmir and suggested that the four-point formula propounded by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf could be used as a 'launching pad'.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'
The present happenings in Manipur are the wages of continued neglect, and not so benign at that, of a vital region and its people. Had we lavished on the North East even a fraction of the care and resources we do on Kashmir, things would not have come to this pass, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
