40 Policemen Killed in Nepal
KATMANDU, Nepal — Communist rebels attacked a police station in a remote mountain village today, killing at least 40 policemen and injuring 19 others, a government minister said.
Seventy officers were stationed at the post in Bhiman village, about 100 miles southeast of the capital, Katmandu. The remaining 11 officers at the station were believed to be hiding in the nearby jungle, said Devendra Raj Kadel, deputy home minister.
Officials said reinforcements have been rushed to the site of the attack, but the rebels have blocked the approach, making it difficult for security personnel to get there.
The insurgents have been fighting to overthrow Nepal’s constitutional monarchy and to set up a one-party communist republic since 1996. The rebels say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Tse-tung.
Fighting intensified after the failure of peace talks in October. The next month, the government imposed a state of emergency, which expired in August.
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