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| Thursday, 25 March 2004 |
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Air raid kills 50 Maoists in Nepal KATHMANDU, Wednesday (AFP) At least 50 Maoist rebels were killed in an air raid by government forces in western Nepal's Baglung district, a security source said Wednesday. "At least 50 Maoists were killed in an air operation launched by the security forces in Tarakhola, Galkot and Argal villages of Gaglung district on Tuesday," the source said. It was not possible to independently verify the death toll in the remote area. Local sources said those killed were not all Maoists. The latest incident follows weekend clashes in western Nepal which the army said claimed the lives of 500 militants. But the Maoist rebels say the army's claim was untrue, and that just 40 of their number were killed. Security forces said they had recovered the bodies of 77 rebels and 21 civilians following the battle in Beni Bazar on Saturday. Tuesday's raid was launched after a tip-off that rebels involved in the Beni Bazar were hiding in the Gaglung district, the source said. Meanwhile Nepal's home minister said the government will press ahead with elections despite a deadly Maoist attack against security forces at the weekend he said was aimed at disrupting the polls. "Despite the Maoist attacks on Beni Bazar, the government will go ahead with plans for the general elections," Home Minister Kamal Thapa told reporters after inspecting the battleground in rebel-dominated west Nepal. Thapa did not say when the polls would be held. Earlier, the government had said they would take place around November. |
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