At least three members of Naga rebel group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) were gunned down by rival Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) in the broad day light at Naginimara market in Mon district of Nagaland near Assam-Nagaland inter-state boundary in Assam's Sivasagar district on Tuesday.

Tension has gripped in the area following the incident as a large group of NSCN-IM members descended in the area after the incident to retaliate the NSCN-K action. NCSN-IM members were firing upon a NSCN-K hideout when reports last came in.

According to a source, five NSCN-IM members were fired upon by the NSCN-K rivals in the market in which three were killed and the rest two were abducted by the latter. The incident created absolute panic in the area. Tension is still continuing in the area.

Both the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K have been truce with Central government forces. The former has been in truce since 1997 and is engaged in prolonged peace talks with the government. The NSCN-K is yet to be engaged in any sort of peace talks though the rebel group signed truce pact long back.

The NSCN-K, which has a strong base inside the jungles of Myanmar, is led by rebel leader S S Khaplang, a Naga of Burmese origin. The group is now trying to gain ground in Nagaland by challenging the comparatively more influential NSCN-IM taking advantage of the virtual stalemate in Naga peace talks involving the government and the rival NSCN-IM.

The NSCN-K accuses the NSCN-IM of making compromises Naga people's interests in the name of peace-talks while the NSCN-IM refuses to recognize the NSCN-K as a representative of Naga people. Both the group doesn't see eye to eye and have been involved in gun battles in different parts of Nagaland of late.