SUMMARY
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khole-Kitovi (NSCN-K-K) are separatist groups who have participated in the decades-old Nagaland conflict. The groups, each of which is composed of members of various Naga tribes, support the secession of the Indian State of Nagaland from the Indian Union. Fighting between NSCN-K and NSCN-K-K commenced in December 2011, but violence between the two groups did not cross the UCDP threshold for armed conflict until 2012. Fighting began approximately 6 months after Generals Khole Konyak and Kitovi Zhimomi broke from SS Khaplang’s group in July 2011 to form what would be known as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khole-Kitovi. The new group continues to demand sovereignty for what is currently the Indian state of Nagaland but dropped Khaplang’s demand that all Naga-inhabited areas (which are found in several Indian states as well as in Myanmar) be united into a single, sovereign state. NSCN-K-K further differentiates itself from NSCN-Khaplang by advocating the resolution of the Nagaland conflict via negotiations with the federal government of India, as well as by advocating reconciliation between the three Naga rebel groups (the NSCN-K, NSCN-K-K, and the NSCN-Isak Muivah). The groups competed in 2011 and 2012 for military and political control over several regions of Nagaland.
Low-level violence between the NSCN-K and NSCN-K-K persisted throughout the year 2012 and throughout much of the Indian state of Nagaland. Reports indicate that NSCN-K members initiated combat in late December 2011 when they attacked and overran a Khole-Kitova camp in Zunheboto District. The NSCN-K attacked another camp in Athibung town in Peren District in January 2012, and fighting for control of Athibung town continued into the month of February. The groups clashed with one another in similar gun battles throughout the year. Each side also used hit and run tactics to abduct and/or assassinate enemy leaders and soldiers. The fighting produced several dozen fatalities.
The non-state conflict between NSCN-K and NSCN-K-K is first included in UCDP data in 2012. In June of that year, fighting between the two groups had resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.
