Imphal, March 30 2009: One underground activist was reportedly killed while two others sustained injuries in a rival armed clash between two armed groups this morning around 4 at a place near Piajang Kabui village under Khoupum Police Station in Tamenglong district.

According to locals, the gunfight was between suspected KNF (MC), a signatory arm group of tripartite Suspension of Operation (SoO) and NSCN (IM), a militant group currently engaged in Peace talk with the Government of India.

Locals said that a militant activist of the KNF (MC), supposedly killed in the encounter was seen ferried by his comrades while two other cadres who were reportedly suffering bullet injuries in the gunfight were seen attended by their armed companions.

Villagers have also said that though the incident took just around 15 kilometres away from the Leimatak village, the police or other security personnel have never turned up to protect the fear-gripped villagers while adding that the Army went to the place around 12pm.According to the villagers, the armed clash occurred due to the intervention of the two armed groups in the affairs of the land dispute between the village where the incident occurred and a nearby village which had been uprooted during the communal clash in the nineties.