Kohima: Amid a public outcry against stepped up factional violence, the Dimapur district administration today asked rival underground groups to immediately vacate civilian-populated areas of the commercial town or face consequences.

District Level Co-ordination Group, Dimapur in a public appeal warned that the group would be compelled to carry out joint operations to flush out underground cadre if they failed to vacate residential areas and shift to respective designated camps.

This appeal from the Group, comprising civil, police and paramilitary forces officials and representatives from Dimapur Municipal Council and tribal bodies, came after the state cabinet directed police and security forces to enforce ceasefire ground rules under standard operation procedures (SOP) following Friday's bloody violence, that left 15 people dead.

At least 40 people, including civilians, were killed over the past two months in and around Dimapur in the factional fighting among Naga groups.

Several organisations and churches denounced the recent violence in the name of a political struggle and asked the rival factions to leave public places immediately and exercise restraint.

Meanwhile, Federation of Gaonburhas (village chiefs) and Dobhashis (interpreters), is holding peace rallies tomorrow in the district headquarters to protest against the killings. Gaonburhas and dobhashis, two institutions set up by the British, are still most influential grass root level administrative mechanism in Nagaland.
Source : PTI