50 Rebels Are Killed, Nepal Army Says

Soldiers repelled a major rebel assault on one of their bases in this country’s mountainous northwest, killing at least 50 Communist guerrillas, the army said Friday.

Hundreds of guerrillas attacked the security base at Khara village, about 250 miles west of Katmandu, the capital, the Royal Nepalese Army headquarters here said.

The army said it recovered at least 50 bodies but believed more rebels were killed. Soldiers also recovered several weapons and some ammunition from the battle site.

Eight soldiers were wounded, three of them critically.

The battle was the fiercest in weeks and coincided with an 11-day general strike called by the rebels last weekend to protest King Gyanendra’s Feb. 1 seizure of absolute power.

The monarch said he was compelled to take over from politicians, claiming they had botched the fight against the rebels, who are inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Tse-tung.

The rebels began their violent campaign in 1996, and more than 10,500 people have been killed since.

Police, meanwhile, arrested about 500 people across the country Friday for protesting the king’s seizure of power and demanding the restoration of democracy, political activists said.

In Katmandu, hundreds of police in riot gear detained more than 100 protesters, including a former minister and four ex-members of parliament, shortly after they emerged in small groups at New Road, the capital’s main shopping area.

The demonstrations were just 100 yards from the military parade grounds where the king was watching an army equestrian show. The area was heavily guarded by soldiers.

Elsewhere, police detained 120 protesters in Birgunj, about 125 miles south of Katmandu, and 60 in nearby Chitwan.