Nepal army claims to have destroyed Maoist arsenal

KATHMANDU: Two Nepalese army helicopters destroyed a Maoist rebel hideout and arsenal in an aerial attack on a remote jungle gorge in the far west of the country, a senior security official said on Monday.

“The security forces carried out aerial attacks on a Maoist hideout and arsenal located in the middle of Sirise forest on Saturday evening,” the official who did not want to be named said.

The official said eight huts allegedly used to manufacture and repair arms were destroyed and said several Maoists were killed or wounded in the attack, but declined to give further details of the incident 350 kilometers west of Kathmandu.

The rebels are believed to have set up the arsenal inside the forest after an arms supply crunch following a recent tightening of border security by land-locked Nepal’s southern and northern neighbours- India and China, the official said.

The Maoists have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since February 1996 and the uprising has already claimed more than 11,000 lives. afp Sphere: Related Content