A rchive Date
[ 13-04-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Nepal ]
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[http://canoe.ca/CNEWSTopNews/nepal_apr12-ap.html
Nepal rebels kill 48 cops
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA-- Associated Press
Friday, April 12, 2002
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Hundreds of government troops took control Friday of an area of western Nepal where rebels armed with bombs and guns attacked four towns, killing 48 policemen and six civilians.
Gun battles raged into Friday morning between rebels and police following the attacks Thursday night on the federal interior security minister's house, a police station, two banks and a bus in Dang district. The area is about 300 kilometres west of the capital, Kathmandu.
"Reinforcement has been sent from both the capital and around . . . the area, who have launched a massive search (for the rebels)," said Devendra Raj Kadel, the country's junior internal security minister.
It was one of the bloodiest attacks in the rebels' six-year campaign to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist state. More than 3,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.
"People in the area are terrified, with most of the people refusing to leave their homes," said Suraj Khatri Chetri, a local journalist who was contacted by telephone.
"There are bodies everywhere. Though additional forces have reached the area, people are not feeling secure."
The rebels, who belong to a banned group calling itself the Nepal Communist party (Maoist), usually don't issue statements after attacks.
The human rights group Amnesty International has accused both the security forces and the insurgents of killing civilians and committing other atrocities.
The fiercest attack took place on the house of Interior Security Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka in Satbariya, which was being guarded by at least 120 members of the newly formed Armed Police Force. It was established last year to quell the insurgency.
Officials said the rebels hurled bombs at the minister's house and opened fire at guards, triggering a battle that lasted several hours. At least 35 policemen were killed, said Kadel. It was not immediately known if any guerrillas died.
Kadel said that in the nearby town of Lamahi, the rebels raided a police station, killing 13 policemen and wounding 15. The guerrillas also waylaid a bus on a highway and killed six civilians before setting the vehicle on fire, Kadel said.
The rebels also bombed two banks in Lamahi and the electricity supply house, cutting power and communication in the area.
State-run Nepal Television showed pictures of the dead policemen and the charred remains of the police station.
While retreating the rebels blocked roads leading to the area with logs making rescue efforts difficult.
Another group of rebels attacked Ghorahi, the headquarters of Dang district, and Tulsipur, but were repulsed by the military after a gun battle. There were no casualties.
A state of emergency was imposed Nov. 26 by King Gyanendra after the rebels withdrew from peace talks and the army was mobilized to help the police fight the guerrillas.
Led by commander Prachanda - whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal - the rebels began fighting in 1996 from the remote mountainous areas.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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