Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today took stock of the situation in Assam, where ethnic clashes have taken place. A spokesperson in the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi said he had asked Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to do everything possible to control the situation and take effective steps for relief and rehabilitation of the affected.

The spokesman said that the Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister about the steps taken by the State Government in the localities, where clashes took place. The State Government has issued shot at sight orders to effectively deal with the situation. Curfew has been clamped in Dhubri and Bilasipara sub divisions of Bilasipara district since yesterday.

Twenty people have been killed in ethnic violence in the state. A large number of people have been rendered homeless with most of them taking shelter in government-run relief camps. The violence followed an incident of the firing on two student leaders in Kokrajhar.