Kohima, May 10: Delhi today reviewed the situation in Nagaland where escalation in factional clashes in and around Dimapur has killed at least 24 people, including security personnel and civilians, since April 15.

The meeting in Dimapur was attended by officials of the Union home ministry, Nagaland commissioner H.K. Khulu, inspector-general of Assam Rifles Maj. Gen. K.S. Sethi, Ceasefire Monitoring Group chairman Lt. Gen. (retd) K.V. Kulkarni and several top security officials. The Centre’s representatives were led by Naveen Verma, joint secretary in charge of the Northeast in the ministry of Union home affairs.

Central, state and security officials held a closed-door meeting with representatives of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) to clear doubts cast over the outfit and the recently floated NSCN (Unification).

The Khaplang group agreed to shift its camp from Vihokhu, which is about 10 km from Dimapur, to avoid clashes near the civilian areas.

Mulatonu, a senior kilonser (minister) of the Khaplang faction and the supervisor of its Ceasefire Supervisory Board (CFSB), said the group would relocate its camp about 8km from Vihokhu and also control its cadres.

He, however, said that the Union and state governments should also control the cadres of its rival group, the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).

He also claimed that there was no NSCN (K) or NSCN (U), only a single NSCN.

Sources said Union home minister Shivraj Patil would visit Dimapur on Wednesday.

Thousands of women organised a torch-lit rally in Dimapur this evening to protest against the factional clashes in civilian areas and Naga legislators from Manipur expressed their willingness to broker peace between the warring Naga factions.

One person was killed by the NSCN (I-M) in Peren district. The Khaplang faction said the victim was a jawan of the IRB from Lazami village under Zunheboto district.