RAOnline Nepal: Maoist activities and reports

Reports on Maoists

Royal Nepal Army Nepal making gains against the rebels
Bloodiest attacks on goverment targets in Achham
Map of Nepal

Royal Nepal Army Nepal making gains against the rebels
Army launched massive counter offensive

February 2002

Kalikot, Surkhet, Tanahun: Royal Nepal Army Nepal making gains against the rebels
At least 78 Maoist rebels have been shot down by Royal Nepal Army forces in encounters. The operation began last week in response to the worst ever Maoist attack on security forces eight days ago, in which more than 160 died, mostly police and soldiers. At 67 rebels were killed in the remote northern district of Kalikot, which borders Achham. Another nine rebels were killed in separate clashes in three neighbouring districts. It is not know if there was any casualties among the security forces.

Security forces had launched a large scaled offensive against Maoist insurgents as well as sealed off major exit points out of Achham, Doti, Kalikot and Dailekh districts. The offensive is being carried out by troops based at Dipayal and is being supplemented by special forces as well as artillery units. Ministry in a statement issued here Thursday said that It said 46 deaths among the Maoists insurgents had been confirmed but the number was expected to rise significantly.

Maoist fighters involved in the Achham attack are fleeing from Achham district. A large number of security forces have been deployed in the Far-and Mid-Western districts of Achham, Dailekh, Surkhet, Jajarkot and Kalikot. RNA soldiers have blocked all the possible escape routes of the rebels in and around Achham district. The army soldiers have been consolidating their positions to limit the movement of armed Maoists.

At least four women cadres of the Maoist militia were shot dead in the Khairenitar area of Tanahun. The site of the encounter is 16 km west from Damauli, the headquarters of Tanahun, which is on the way to Pokhara from Kathmandu. Seven policemen have been injured in a landmine explosion in the same district. The landmine has been planted by Maoists hiding in a jungle nearly 300 metres away from the site of the explosion. A police truck carrying Armed Police Force (APF), hit the landmine at Guaharechautara. A landmine explosion in the same area about three weeks ago killed four policemen.

Army forces have demolished a training center of the Maoists in Chappra of Kalikot district. The center was being used to train Maoists from far western Achham, Bajura and mid western Kalikot district. An encounter have taken place at Bidhapur area of Surkhet district where 15-armed rebels were shot dead by army soldiers. The army have followed the Maoists from Kullimara and Tadighat border point of Achham district.

At least 13 Maoists, were shot dead at Dugdhalagna village that bordering Achham with Kalikot district. The Maoists, established their own checkpoint at Dugdhalagna , had been threatening locals and creating terror in the area.

India ready to act against Maoists

According to the Indian ambassador to Nepal, the Indian government would take immediate action against the senior Maoist leaders provided that the Nepal government informs the latter about their shelters in India. The Indian government would immediately arrest them (senior Maoist leaders) if the Nepal government provides information about their hideouts. The ambassador said that some leaders of Nepal's political parties, including opposition leaders, might have authentic information about the Maoist leaders hiding in India. Some of the party leaders have met with the Maoistleaders in India, Indian intelligence sources said. An Indian intelligence department is closely monitoring leaders of the banned organisation. The Indian government is going to deploy Special Service Bureau along the Nepal-India border with a view to controlling Maoist terrorism and other forms of criminal activities.

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Achham: Maoist rebels launched major attacks on government targets
February 2002

More than 120 people have been killed in two separate but simultaneous attacks by Maoist rebels on government installations in western Nepal. The rebels raided Mangalsen, district headquarters of the remote hill district of Achham (about 420kms northwest of Kathmandu), and an airstrip in nearby Sanfebagar at about midnight.The victims of the raids on Mangalsen and the nearby airstrip included police officers, soldiers and local government officials. The rebels mounted attacks on an airport, government buildings, a military barracks and an armoury. Buildings were blown up and banks were looted. Gun battles between rebels and the security forces went on for many hours from midnight until well after dawn. It has been a deceptive and dastardly attack on a small security force by a big Maoist group, officials said. Maoists also torched a bus travelling to Kathmandu from Gaur after forcing passengers out of the vehicle.The rebels fled after the army arrived. Smoke was seen drifting around the scene of the daring attacks for a long time afterwards. The scale and ferocity of the attacks go beyond anything the rebels have carried out previously in six years of conflict. It was the bloodiest offensive launched by Maoist militants since they abandoned peace talks last year and a state of emergency was declared in the country last November. Rebels have intensified their nation-wide attacks as parliament begins a debate on the extension of the emergency earlier this week.

There have also been casualties among the rebels. An Home Ministry spokesman said that some 40 rebels died but calculating an exact total was difficult as the guerrillas had carried away the bodies of their slain comrades. Hundreds of rebels have died. "All roads leading to Mangalsen are splattered with blood. All government buildings, except two, are burning. Maoists used rockets in their attacks," eyewitnesses said. Rebels used sophisticated arms looted from an army barrack in Ghorai, Dang, last year. Maoists decamped weapons like rocket launchers, rockets and grenades from Dang increasing their firepower.

In the ensuing four-hour gun-battle, rebels destroyed an army barracks and a police station, torching many of the government office buildings in the town. District authorities also reported that district government's top administrator, as well as an intelligence officer and his wife, were shot dead by rebels. The rebels also attacked a jail housing Maoist inmates to release them, and raided a bank stealing 20 million NRs (about US$300,000). As the gun battle raged, authorities tried to rush in reinforcements by helicopter from Nepalgunj, a regional town on the southern plains, but were thwarted by rebel fire. After several attempts, government choppers were finally able to land morning and recover the bodies of the dead policemen and soldiers. Reinforcements have started combing the area to hunt down the rebels who fled with weapons looted from district police headquarters.

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