M A I N   N E W S

30 Maoist rebels killed, 35 arrested

Kathmandu, December 10
Unleashing a fresh wave of offensives, the Nepalese security forces shot dead at least 30 Maoists rebels in separate encounters as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today vowed to disarm all guerrillas.

The countrywide drive against the rebels also saw the arrest of 35 of them.

More than 11 Maoists were killed in Kapurkot of Salyan district in western Nepal when Nepalese army men guarding an installation of the state-owned telecommunication corporation fired back responding to an attack by the ultras, a defence ministry press note issued here said.

In the gunbattle that lasted for five hours, two army personnel were also killed. Eleven bodies of the rebels were found in the area but a large number of other bodies of the rebels were dragged away by their comrades, it said.

Eleven Maoists were killed in an encounter in Dhangadi of Kailali district in western Nepal when the security forces came under attack from the rebels, Home Ministry sources said.

Five rebels were gunned down when they refused to respond to security personnel’s order to surrender and attempted to flee at Durmandaun of Baitadi district during a cordon-and-search operation. Two Maoists were arrested from the area.

In another encounter in Kanepokhari of Morang district in eastern Nepal, three guerrillas were killed in a face-off with the security forces, said Radio Nepal.

Mr Deuba said the operations against the Maoists would continue till they were completely disarmed but assured the government would not violate human rights even during the emergency period. PTI