Roundup: Heavy Casualties in Fierce Fighting in Nepal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 16, 2002

Roundup: Heavy Casualties in Fierce Fighting in Nepal

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At least 60 government security personnel, 55 anti-government guerrillas and three local government officials lost their lives in two separate fierce encounters between security forces and guerrillas from late Thursday night to Friday morning in Jumla and Gorkha districts in western Nepal.

At least 37 security personnel, including 33 policemen and foursoldiers, were killed and another 30 policemen and some soldiers were wounded when some 4,000 guerrillas surrounded and attacked Khalanga, the headquarters of Jumla district in mid western Nepal,beginning from mid-night Thursday.

The guerrillas launched attacks at security bases from all sides, including an army barrack, the Armed Police Force base, Regional Police Unit and District Police office, and then set the District Administration Office and some other offices on fire. TheJumla airport was also totally destroyed.

In the eight-hour cross-fire, top civil administrators including the chief district officer and two deputy superintendents of the police lost their lives, while the districtjudge is still missing.

A large number of the anti-government guerrillas were killed after several night vision helicopters began aerial offensives to add support to the government security forces, and a combined force of the security personnel has been mobilized to hunt down the guerrillas in and around the area.

The government authorities claimed that as many as 300 anti-government guerrillas and civilians, who were used as "human shield" by the guerrillas, might have died in the battle in Jumla,because eyewitnesses said the rebels were carrying their dead bodies in the bamboo baskets fleeing away from the battlefield Friday morning.

However, the Nepali Defense Ministry confirmed in a press statement that 55 bodies of the guerrillas were found up to now inthe battlefield.

In another gun battle, 23 policemen were killed and 10 others sustained serious injuries in Takukot police post in the western district of Gorkha, more than 100 km west of Kathmandu, after a group of guerrillas launched a sudden attack at the post in mid-night Thursday. There were 60 security personnel stationed in the police post.

The policemen who survived the battle said that five dozen guerrillas were killed after several night vision helicopters began aerial offensives against the rebels. However, the exact number of the death toll of the rebel's side is not known right now.

The Defense Ministry said that the security forces recovered some weapons, arms and ammunition from the above two incident sites. All the wounded were airlifted to Kathmandu, Pokhara or nearby local hospitals for treatment.

These are the first deadly attacks by the anti-government guerrillas since the new government under the premiership of Lokendra Bahadur Chand was formed early last month. The attacks have also come two days after the anti-government insurgents' leaders renewed their call for peace talks with the government in an attempt to end the nearly seven-year-long insurgency in Nepal.

The insurgency has claimed over 7,000 lives, including policemen, civilians and guerrillas since it began in the Himalayan kingdom in 1996. More than 4,000 guerrillas and hundredsof security personnel and civilians were killed after the government imposed a state of emergency on Nov. 26 last year.

The insurgents have stepped up their violent activities across the country since the nine-month-long nationwide state of emergency expired at the end of August this year.

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