The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, November 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India

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Nepal army kills 13 Maoists

Kathmandu, November 28
At least 13 Maoists were killed and five others arrested by Nepal’s army two days after the declaration of a state of emergency in the Himalayan kingdom, the Nepalese Defence Ministry said today.

Nepali soldiers patrol on the streets of Katmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday.
— AP/PTI photo

They were killed near Malta Khola in Salyan district of western Nepal, it said.

The army also arrested five terrorists and seized weapons and Rs 1.2 million looted by the rebels, the ministry added.

Troops also repulsed rebels in several parts of the country, including Charikot of Dolakha district, 150 km east of Kathmandu.

A state of emergency was declared in Nepal on Monday in the wake of the Maoist rebellion.

Meanwhile, the US government has barred its diplomats from travelling outside the Nepalese capital and told Americans that the Himalayan kingdom is not safe because of a resurgence of Maoist violence.

Meanwhile, Nepal said today that the SAARC Summit set for January in the capital would proceed despite the emergency imposed on the country to combat a Maoist revolt. UNI, Reuters

PM assures King of help
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today telephoned Nepal’s King Gyanendra and assured him that New Delhi would stand by Kathmandu at this difficult juncture.

Mr Vajpayee told the King that whatever help and assistance Nepal required from India to quell the Maoist violence would be provided, He also expressed his government’s support for the emergency measures taken by the Nepal Government to deal with the situation.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, in response to a question whether the government considered the Maoists’ acts as violence or terrorism, said the Nepalese government had categorised these as terrorism.