Nepal's Civil War Situation Travelling with Caution Maoists on the move Maoists and Tourism RAOnline links Facts on Maoists

Maoist and security forces activities have been reported from ...

Major incidents have been reported from the following districts:

The Nepalese Home Ministry has designated the following districts as Sensitive Class-A, namely Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhpalchowk, Gorkha, Dang, Surkhet and Achham while other sensitive districts are Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Udaipur, Marwanpur, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Dhading, Tanahu, Lamjung, Parbat, Baglung, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Bardiya, Dailekh, Jumla and Dolpa.

Travel advice:
Security officials named the following locations as places through which Maoist rebels transport weaponry: Gokuleshwor, Melauli, Purchungehat and Kuwakot (Baitadi), Belauri (Kanchanpur), Jogbudha (Dadeldhura), Ramaroshan and Binayak (Achham) and some areas of Bajura district. Travel to those locations and surrounding areas is not recommended.

January 2006: A four-month long unilateral ceasefire called by Maoist rebels ended.

August 2003: Nepal cease-fire collapses
A seven-month old cease-fire in Nepal between the government and Maoist rebels has collapsed after the rebels declared there was no justification for the truce amid an uncompromising stance from the Nepali Government

Maoist and security forces activities Districts: Travelling with Caution

Travelling with Caution: Guerrilla war has no front lines. Guerrillas operate in the midst of, and often hidden or protected by, civilian populations. The purpose of guerrilla war is not to engage an enemy army in direct confrontation, but rather to harass and punish it so as to gradually limit its operation and effectively liberate territory from its control.

The guerrillas operate to varying degrees in 68 of the 75 districts that comprise Nepal. Their influence varies between moderate to extreme in these districts.

The CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda said in a statemant published in a Maoist-run news service that rebel policy did not allow foreign nationals to be targeted. The Maoist policy we be also applied to American tourists and officials.

The fact is that the Maoists are every where. They are in the remote villages, in the remote districts, in the urban areas, in the rural areas and they are in Kathmandu as well.

The Maoist people's war that began with khukuris and spears in a handful of mid-western districts five years ago is now the most serious threat to the monarchy and democracy. The Maoists now have modern weapons at their disposal and have spread to all the 75 districts of the country. Except for district headquarters, they now have effective control in more than 36 districts. In these districts government and administration are confined to the headquarters. They are rapidly gaining ground in another nine districts.

At this rate the nine will also fall under their control in a few months, forcing the government to confine itself to the headquarters. Maoist sources say taking control of the headquarters won't be difficult if they are able to occupy the periphery. But they are not advancing just yet because maintaining control can be difficult. The most affected area is contiguous and concentrated in the mid-western region. This is one of the most backward and least accessible districts of Nepal. The affected areas are all too close to Kathmandu. Many of the affected areas are spread out along Terai districts close to India.

The insurgency has affected almost all the 75 districts of the country (only a handful of remote mountain districts remain untouched). Five contiguous western Nepal districts are, for all practical purposes, under the control of the Maoists. The civil war in Nepal between Maoist rebels and government forces has affected all 75 of the 75 districts in the country, and has led to more than 10,000 deaths and widespread displacement. According to most estimates, 100,000 to 200,000 people, out of a population of approximately 26 million, have been displaced in Nepal.

Districts with people's governments The Maoists have declared eight districts in Bheri, Karnali and Rapti Zones as having "people's governments" and they appear to be consolidating their hold on districts on the periphery like Dang, Bajura and Dailekh. In Dolakha district there is an "people's government" as well.

Nepal's problem is not the Maoist war but an entrenched coalition of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats that profits from Maoist war.

According to government's own admission 32 districts are believed to be the hardest hit where guerrillas roam freely and organize open mass meetings. Police is controlling the headquarters , its surroundings and some of the highways connecting the centres. The Maoists are controlling the countryside. The Maoist installed their own adminstrations in some districts.

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