Kohima, Dec. 3: With only two days left before the arrival of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) leadership in Delhi, a fierce factional war has erupted in Nagaland which has left several rebels on either side dead and/or injured.

However, the government is tight-lipped on the issue. Sources in security forces said they were preparing to step in should the situation showed signs of spilling over.

A suspected NSCN (Isak-Muivah) activist was killed by a joint force of NSCN (Khaplang) and the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN). The dead, identified as Khuchem Khiamniungan, was killed on Wednesday after the NSCN(K) and the FGN branded him an NSCN (I-M) informer.

The Noklak area of Tuensang district is the flashpoint of repeated incidents of violence in the last few weeks. While the NSCN(K) claimed that it has killed some 12 activists of the rival faction, Tuensang administration said there were casualties on both sides.

?The NSCN (I-M) plays a psychological war by being secretive about the killing of its cadre. So far, we haven?t found any of their bodies if at all there were killings. But Khaplang?s cadre have been killed,? said a senior government official from Tuensang. However, the administration is keeping a close watch over the increasing unity of the FGN and the Naga National Council (NNC), which have a common enemy in the NSCN (I-M).

The two groups have been working in tandem in Phek and Tuensang districts for the past two years, sources said. The NSCN (I-M) has made inroads into most parts of the state, barring Noklak area in Tuensang and some parts of Mon district. Phek district has also been on the news of late because of clashes between the NSCN (I-M) and the FGN which claims supremacy in the area.

Tuensang has been the most violent district in the past three weeks, with clashes being reported from near Chendang Saddle village on the Indo-Myanmar border. The village also divides the Chang and Khiamniungan tribal areas.

The Chang tribe changed allegiance from the NSCN (K) to the NSCN (I-M) early this year. Now, the NSCN (I-M) is trying hard to win over the Khiamniungan tribals, who have traditionally owed allegiance to the FGN, the armed wing of the NNC.

The tribe has more villages in Myanmar than in Nagaland and has been loyal to the FGN.