Posted on 10/21/2003 3:03:12 AM PDT by Int
Abducted British official a Brigadier General
A British official abducted by the Maoists from Baglung on Monday was a senior official named John Paul, a Brigadier General of the British army, published reports said Tuesday.
The Kathmandu-based British embassy Monday confirmed the abduction of the official on Monday.
Along with Paul, four more officials have gone missing. Of them, three were British Gurkha officials. They have been identified as Nar Bahadur Thapa, Balkrishna Gurung and Karna Bahadur Kaucha. The name of the fifth abducted official was not known.
The actual place where the abduction took place was Lekhani village in Baglung, the reports said.
This is the first time that a foreign national has been abducted by the Maoist rebels since they began "people's war" eights years ago. The Defense Ministry has not confirmed or denied the abductions, so far.
"A small team of the British Gurkhas who were recruiting have been out of touch from 8 in the evening on Sunday," a duty officer at the British Embassy had told Nepalnews on Monday. Brigadier General Paul was observing the recruitment. nepanews.com mr Oct 21
We've just approved a Foreign Military Aid Program shipment of some 20,000 M16A2 rifles to Nepal. They'll likely be put to good use very shortly.
-archy-/-
Sun Oct 19,11:37 AM ET
A Nepalese army soldier (L) stands guard as his colleagues inspect the body of Anil Chaudhary a former employee of the Carpet and Wool Development Board at Dhumbarahi in Kathmandu, 14 October 2003. Chaudhary was shot dead, at point blank range while walking in the street at Dhumbarahi locality on the outskirts of the capital, a police spokesman said. Violence has surged in Nepal since an eight-day ceasefire called by the Maoists ended on 09 October.
(AFP/File/Devendra M Singh)
You might expect them to be carrying Kalishnikovs.
Oh no; not at all. Neither is either side poorly led or supplied, weak in resolve, nor short of external support from those using the Nepalese factions as proxies. Could this war surpass the Shining Path/FARC S. American tactics in cruelty and brutality? Has it already?
It's probably at least equal to it in intensity, and that's a good comparison, since there's a decidedly Maoist bent to the Peruvianos' Sendero Luminoso. There are certainly comparisons in terrain as well, so long as you don't try to stretch the comparison too far.
What are the chances of a Maoist victory, or a of the Maoists being decisively crushed?
Over the short haul, probably not good for either. Over a longer period, it might eventually go either way, depending on whether the Nepalese Government institutes some reforms without appearing to do so as concessions out of weakness and institutes some innovations sorely needed by the military, or just continues to maintain a *business-as-usual* attitude.
It's probably worth keeping an eyec on developments on neighboring Bhutan as well.
Care to be added to the *Kukri* Nepal/Gurkha news ping list?
-archy-/-
Ghurka's OVVN
Matt
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.