AP Wire | 01/05/2005 | Nepal Soldiers Raid Rebels, Killing 30

BINAJ GURUBACHARYA

Associated Press

KATMANDU, Nepal - Soldiers backed by helicopters raided a communist rebel hideout in the forests of western Nepal, killing at least 30 guerrillas Wednesday and foiling a planned attack on an army base, officials said.

Tipped that the rebels were meeting, the soldiers moved on the guerrilla camp in the Mashuriya forests near Banchet village, about 375 miles west of the capital, Katmandu.

Brig. Gen. Rajendra Thapa, who heads the army operation in west Nepal, said authorities believed the rebels were about to attack a nearby army base.

The fighting lasted five hours. At least seven soldiers were injured, two of them seriously.

Thapa said soldiers recovered the bodies of 30 rebels and believe more were killed. The guerillas often remove their dead to keep soldiers from identifying them.

The rebels, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state and have launched bolder attacks in recent months.

More than 10,500 people have died since the fighting began.

The government has urged guerrillas to join peace talks, but the rebels walked out of negotiations in August and ended a seven-month cease-fire. Sphere: Related Content