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| Tuesday, 10 September 2002 |
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Maoist rebels attack Nepal town, buildings on fire KATHMANDU, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Maoist rebels launched a major overnight attack on a remote Nepali town targeting several government offices, some of which were on fire, the junior home minister said on Monday. There was no immediate word on casualties but a police official said the toll could be high as there were about 200 police and soldiers posted in the town. The rebels, fighting to set up a one party communist republic since 1996, have stepped up their attacks on government installations in recent weeks following a brief lull since May. The attack came a day after an assault on a police post by more than 1,000 rebels -- fighting to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy -- in which 49 officers were killed. "It is a pretty big attack. There is no communication link and we don't know the casualties," minister Devendra Raj Kandel told Reuters. "Several government buildings are on fire and we are trying to send in reinforcements." The attack took place in Sandhikharka in Arghakhanchi district, 300 km (185 miles) west of Kathmandu. A government official said communication links snapped around midnight on Sunday. He said army and police helicopters had been rushed to the town with reinforcements. "We will get details once they reach the site and get in touch with us," the official said. Nepali forces in May launched major raids on rebel hideouts killing hundreds of guerrillas in their stronghold in west Nepal. But the rebels had regrouped and were launching fresh attacks since the end of emergency rule last month, officials said. Several bomb attacks have rocked the Nepali capital Kathmandu since then killing at least one soldier. No one has claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts but officials have blamed the rebels. More than 4,800 people have been killed in the revolt, more than 2,900 of them in the last 10 months alone. |
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