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Nine policemen, seven civilians killed by Maoist rebels in Nepal |
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June 11, 2000
KATMANDU, JUNE 10 (AP) - Nine policemen and seven civilians were killed when Maoist rebels attacked a police station in midwestern Nepal earlier this week, police said Saturday.
Reports of the killings were delayed as the area is remote and bad weather prevented news from reaching the capital, said Govind Raj Joshi, Nepal's minister for internal security. Officials
said several hundred armed guerrillas attacked the police
station in Panchatikiya, a village 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of
Katmandu, on Wednesday, shooting at the contingent of about 52 policemen.
Some who tried to flee were tracked by the rebels into the village and the nearby forest. The rebels opened fire at a group of policemen hiding inside a house in Panchatikiya. Seven villagers, including five children were killed in the shooting, police said.
One police officer was found dead in the forest, a two-hour walk from the village. "Due to bad weather, rescue helicopters have not been able to land at the site so we have been able to get details of the incident. But we have dispatched rescuers by foot to the area," said security minister Joshi.
He said 41 policemen managed to escape and reached the district headquarters at Khalanga, or to other safe places. He refused to give any more details.
Two policemen were still missing, he said. The bodies of the dead policemen have been flown to Nepalgunj, the largest city in the region, for post-mortem, Joshi said.
Since the rebels began their violent campaign nearly four years ago, more than 1,300 people have been killed in this Himalayan country north of India.
The
rebels are demanding an end to the constitutional monarchy in Nepal
and allege police repression. They are active in 29 of Nepal's 75
districts.
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