Nepal: Outbreak of violence
2004-10-30 10:36
Kathmandu - A nine-day truce between Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government has come to a bloody end, with 10 rebels killed in fierce clashes with security forces, an army source said on Saturday.
The clashes occurred on Friday and early on Saturday in various parts of the Himalayan kingdom, the source told AFP, asking not to be identified.
The truce, announced by the rebels and reciprocated by the government to mark a Hindu festival, ended on Thursday midnight.
The government had offered to extend the ceasefire indefinitely on condition the Maoists followed suit.
However, fighting broke out on Friday in the Siraha district, south-east of Kathmandu, where two rebels were killed in clashes with Nepalese security forces near the village of Mirchaiya, the source said.
Violence continued in the district through the night and another four rebels were gunned down by security forces early on Saturday at Tetis Bigha locality.
Other clashes occurred early on Saturday at a village in far-eastern Taplejung district, where another four Maoists were killed, the source said.
The rebels have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since 1996 and the uprising has already claimed more than 10 000 lives.