Posted on 10/14/2003 3:48:47 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
At least 37 people have been killed when about 1,000 Maoist rebels tried to storm a police training centre in western Nepal two days after ending a truce with the government, police say.
The clash began late on Sunday when the rebels fighting to topple the constitutional monarchy began firing from higher ground at the roadside camp in Bhaluwang, 400 km (250 miles) west of Kathmandu.
"The rebels had snapped telephone cables, set up roadblocks by felling trees or blowing up highway bridges to prevent reinforcements from coming," a witness, Krishna Adhikary, told Reuters.
The clash came after 37 Maoists and three policemen were killed in a fierce gunbattle also in the west of the Himalayan kingdom late on Friday, ending a nine-day truce called by the rebels for Nepal's largest Hindu festival, Dasain.
A dozen policemen on patrol and 25 rebels have died in the most recent gunbattle, a police official said.
"More rebels might have died and the search for bodies in neighbouring jungles is continuing," he said.
There was no immediate comment from the rebels, who have tended to report smaller tallies than police figures in the past.
The Maoists, who steal money from banks and arms from security forces, have been fighting since 1996 to set up a communist republic in the impoverished nation tucked between China and India.
They have stepped up attacks since walking out of peace talks in August after the government turned down a demand for a new constitution to decide the future of the monarchy.
The revolt has claimed more than 7,600 lives, ravaged the economy, crippled tourism in the scenic mountainous nation and endangered stability.
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