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| Wednesday, 9 February 2005 |
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Nepali army launches air strikes against rebels KATHMANDU, Tuesday (Reuters) Nepali troops backed by helicopters have attacked Maoist camps in the jungles in the west of the country, as part of a new offensive against the rebels launched after the king seized power a week ago. Dozens of Maoists have been killed in the strikes on training camps and shelters near the western city of Nepalgunj, newspapers reported on Tuesday, but the army said it was still waiting for details. A senior military officer in Nepalgunj told Reuters by telephone troops were returning to the city after Monday's operation, but he did not yet have casualty figures. The army said at least three Maoists had been killed in other clashes and a soldier had been killed defusing a land mine the same day. The rebels have not commented on the latest clashes. King Gyanendra sacked the government, suspended civil rights and seized power in what some analysts said was a move to give free rein to the army against the rebels to end a nine-year rebellion to topple the monarchy and set up a communist state. Immediately after the king's move, which sparked worldwide condemnation, the army said it would intensify its offensive to force the rebels back to peace talks. The Maoists have attacked King Gyanendra's assumption of power and threatened a blockade and traffic strike throughout the country on Feb. 13 if he does not restore democracy. The guerrillas closed off the capital, Kathmandu, for a week last August with a blockade imposed by threat rather than force. But the military says the rebels' operations have been hit by the king's move to cut all phones within the rugged Himalayan kingdom and with the outside world. "Their strength has weakened because with telephone lines and mobiles out, they have not been able to spread their psychological terror," another senior officer in western Nepal told Reuters. Late on Monday, domestic and international lines began working again for the first time in a week. Rights groups plan the first open show of defiance against the king's move on Thursday and have called their supporters onto the streets for a "black flag" protest outside the sprawling complex housing parliament and the prime minister's office. But hundreds of political leaders, activists, journalists and rights workers have been arrested around the country in a move aimed at stifling dissent and suppressing opposition. Meanwhile Nepal has unveiled far-reaching proposals aimed at bringing education, health, water, roads and agricultural development to the rural poor, state media said Tuesday. The plan comes after the new government, appointed last week by King Gyanendra, announced a crackdown on corruption and poverty apparently aimed at winning popular support for the monarch's takeover of power. Maoist rebels, who according to analysts control up to 20 of Nepal's 75 districts and have considerable influence in the others, have won support from subsistence farmers aggrieved at seeing the country's resources being diverted to the urban elite. The Ministry of Local Development has drafted a 39-point "action plan" to improve local government across the country, state-run radio said. Education, health, development of local resources, veterinary services and agriculture would be developed and decentralised, it said. The state-run Rising Nepal newspaper said the ministry was working out a system of local governance based on "inclusive democracy". |
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