Nepal's rights record condemned

Fighting between the security forces and the Maoists has escalated

Nepalese troops and Maoist rebels have both been responsible for kidnapping and killings in the country's civil war, a human rights group says.

The US-based Human Rights Watch says other countries should use their influence with Nepalese authorities to stop such abuses.

The Maoists have been engaged in an armed struggle since 1996 to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.

At least 9,500 people have lost their lives in the eight-year insurgency.

"In Nepal's escalating civil war, civilians in contested areas are executed, abducted and tortured both by government forces and Maoist rebels," the Human Rights Watch report says.

Neither the government nor the Maoists appear particularly concerned with the protection of civilians while they fight this dirty war Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch

The report describes many cases in which villagers have been taken from their homes by the Maoists or the security forces, and are either shot dead or disappear.

'Dirty war'

The villagers face the risk of reprisals from both the Maoists and security forces if they provide information to the security forces or shelter the Maoists, the report says.

"Neither the government nor the Maoists appear particularly concerned with the protection of civilians while they fight this dirty war," Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division told the Associated Press.

"If they want to have any legitimacy in Nepal or with the international community, they need to end attacks on civilians," he said.

The Nepalese army denies that it targets innocent civilians.

Peace talks between the government and the Maoists broke down last year over a key rebel demand for a constituent assembly that would draw up a new constitution clearing the way for a communist republic.

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