munkey soup
9th September 2002, 00:16
Rebels Kill 48 Policemen in Nepal
By REUTERS
Filed at 9:37 a.m. ET
KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Maoist rebels, who are fighting to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy, attacked a police post in the east of the country and killed 49 police officers, a government minister said on Sunday.
The rebels attacked the post with automatic rifles in Sindhuli district, 90 miles east of Kathmandu, late on Saturday, officials said. There were 73 policemen at the post at the time.
A Home Ministry statement said the 49 dead policemen included an inspector and other junior officers. The rebels first engaged in a gunbattle with the policemen.
``The terrorists then bombed the police post and looted some weapons,'' the ministry said.
Nepal's Junior Home Minister Devendra Raj Kandel, on his return from the scene of the attack, told Reuters two other police officers were still missing after the battle.
The raid, the latest in a wave of rebel attacks on government installations, is the deadliest since emergency rule, imposed in November and extended two times, ended on August 28.
A senior government official said the government was considering reimposing emergency rule because of the attack. Emergency rule gives sweeping search and detention powers to soldiers to help them counter the rebels.
Kandel told Reuters that the policemen who were wounded in the more than five hours of battle had been airlifted and brought to a hospital in Kathmandu.
He said bodies of two Maoist rebels killed in the gunbattle were also recovered from the scene.
``The terrorists might have suffered more casualties as local villagers saw them carrying many dead or wounded while fleeing,'' Kandel said.
The communist rebels have been fighting to set up a one party communist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom since 1996.
Inspired by the revolutionary ideas of the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, they have vowed to bring down what they say is a corrupt, feudalistic political system.
Kandel said the latest attack took place late Saturday when the rebels suddenly emerged from the forests and sprayed bullets on the policemen at the security post.
POLICE HAD OUTDATED WEAPONS
The rebels used automatic rifles in the fighting while the police had only old and outdated weapons, he added.
``Some policemen who had surrendered after they had exhausted their ammunition were shot dead by the guerrillas,'' he said.
Communication links which had broken down after the gunbattle had been restored after reinforcements reached the site and cleared road blocks put up by the rebels along the approach to the police post, officials said.
Remote police posts in the Himalayan foothills have been a favorite target for the insurgents, particularly in the west of the country, but they have also stepped up raids in the east since late last year.
The government imposed emergency rule after the rebels walked out of talks in November and launched a series of bloody raids.
Key political parties are opposed to any extension of the emergency in the run-up to parliamentary elections set to begin on November 13.
The rebels have vowed to stop the vote.
They have been blamed for a string of blasts in and around the capital in recent days.
More than 4,800 people have been killed in the revolt, more than 2,900 of them in the nearly 10 months since peace moves collapsed.
The conflict has increased the economic woes of Nepal, one of the 10 poorest countries in the world.
Investors and tourists have been scared away from the scenic, mountainous country, home to Mount Everest and the birth place of Buddha.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html
By REUTERS
Filed at 9:37 a.m. ET
KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Maoist rebels, who are fighting to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy, attacked a police post in the east of the country and killed 49 police officers, a government minister said on Sunday.
The rebels attacked the post with automatic rifles in Sindhuli district, 90 miles east of Kathmandu, late on Saturday, officials said. There were 73 policemen at the post at the time.
A Home Ministry statement said the 49 dead policemen included an inspector and other junior officers. The rebels first engaged in a gunbattle with the policemen.
``The terrorists then bombed the police post and looted some weapons,'' the ministry said.
Nepal's Junior Home Minister Devendra Raj Kandel, on his return from the scene of the attack, told Reuters two other police officers were still missing after the battle.
The raid, the latest in a wave of rebel attacks on government installations, is the deadliest since emergency rule, imposed in November and extended two times, ended on August 28.
A senior government official said the government was considering reimposing emergency rule because of the attack. Emergency rule gives sweeping search and detention powers to soldiers to help them counter the rebels.
Kandel told Reuters that the policemen who were wounded in the more than five hours of battle had been airlifted and brought to a hospital in Kathmandu.
He said bodies of two Maoist rebels killed in the gunbattle were also recovered from the scene.
``The terrorists might have suffered more casualties as local villagers saw them carrying many dead or wounded while fleeing,'' Kandel said.
The communist rebels have been fighting to set up a one party communist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom since 1996.
Inspired by the revolutionary ideas of the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, they have vowed to bring down what they say is a corrupt, feudalistic political system.
Kandel said the latest attack took place late Saturday when the rebels suddenly emerged from the forests and sprayed bullets on the policemen at the security post.
POLICE HAD OUTDATED WEAPONS
The rebels used automatic rifles in the fighting while the police had only old and outdated weapons, he added.
``Some policemen who had surrendered after they had exhausted their ammunition were shot dead by the guerrillas,'' he said.
Communication links which had broken down after the gunbattle had been restored after reinforcements reached the site and cleared road blocks put up by the rebels along the approach to the police post, officials said.
Remote police posts in the Himalayan foothills have been a favorite target for the insurgents, particularly in the west of the country, but they have also stepped up raids in the east since late last year.
The government imposed emergency rule after the rebels walked out of talks in November and launched a series of bloody raids.
Key political parties are opposed to any extension of the emergency in the run-up to parliamentary elections set to begin on November 13.
The rebels have vowed to stop the vote.
They have been blamed for a string of blasts in and around the capital in recent days.
More than 4,800 people have been killed in the revolt, more than 2,900 of them in the nearly 10 months since peace moves collapsed.
The conflict has increased the economic woes of Nepal, one of the 10 poorest countries in the world.
Investors and tourists have been scared away from the scenic, mountainous country, home to Mount Everest and the birth place of Buddha.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html