23 Dead, 24 Hurt in Rebel Attacks in India and Nepal

Suspected Maoist rebels attacked police stations in India and Nepal, killing 22 officers and wounding at least 24 others in separate assaults, police said Saturday. One rebel was killed in a shootout.

In Dharukonda, a town in southern India, nearly 25 suspected rebels hurled bombs at a police station and opened fire on it Friday night. Seven officers died, and eight were wounded in that attack.

The rebels stole 17 automatic rifles, three carbines, one light machine gun and one pistol from the police station before they escaped, a police officer said.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the government has blamed all recent attacks on the People’s War Group. The outlawed organization is fighting to carve out a homeland for tribes in Andhra Pradesh and three other Indian states.

In mountainous midwestern Nepal, suspected rebels threw crude bombs at a police station Saturday as the country was celebrating its democracy day. Fifteen officers died and 16 were wounded, authorities said.

The attack came in Gharti, about 200 miles west of Katmandu, the Nepalese capital. The wounded policemen were being flown to nearby hospitals, police said.

Nepal’s democracy day celebrates the anniversary of the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in 1990. A military and cultural parade in the Nepalese capital highlighted the celebrations.

The rebels demand an end to the constitutional monarchy, police repression and feudalism. Since they began their campaign in 1996, more than 1,000 people have been killed in the Himalayan state.