Posted on 07/19/2004 8:07:38 AM PDT by dubyaweluvya
Maoist Rebels Abduct 50 School Children in Nepal
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Maoist guerrillas abducted at least 50 students and a dozen teachers from a school near the Nepali capital to try to force them to support a campaign against the constitutional monarchy, officials said on Monday.
The rebels dragged the children, aged between 13 and 16, and teachers at gunpoint from the school in Chaimale village on Sunday afternoon, police officer Deepak Ranjit said.
The Maoists have in the past kidnapped school and university students from the countryside, but they have been sent back after one or two days of indoctrination, analysts said.
Sunday's kidnapping of school children was the first in the Kathmandu Valley.
Soldiers had been deployed to secure the release of the hostages, Ranji said. Most of the kidnapped students were girls.
The guerrillas, who want to set up a communist republic in one of the world's poorest countries, have in the past ordered families in villages to send one child each to join their armed struggle.
Nepali authorities estimate about 200 child soldiers are in the Maoist ranks fighting government forces.
The rebels, who control vast swathes of the countryside, have in recent months been striking government installations in Kathmandu to show their strength.
Peace talks between the government and the rebels have failed twice. More than 10,000 people have died since the rebellion broke out in 1996.
07/19/04 06:34
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[Major prayers for these kids, teachers, and families.]
Prayer BUMP!
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