| Reuters Reporter |
Posted
on 14-Apr-02 03:02 PM
April 14, 2002
Rebels in Nepal Kill Over 300, Police Say
By REUTERS
Filed at 10:49 a.m. ET
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's king on Sunday appealed for peace and unity in a New Year message to his nation, three days after more than 300 people were believed killed in the increasingly bloody communist revolt to topple him.
``All Nepalese... must...unite in widening the base of mutual confidence and understanding through democratic exercise,'' King Gyanendra said in a message broadcast to the nation marking the Himalayan Hindu kingdom's new year.
``Continued violence and destruction of development infrastructure in the country has left our economy in shambles,'' said the king, who assumed the throne last June when the crown prince killed King Birendra and other relatives in a palace massacre before shooting himself.
The tiny impoverished nation is under emergency rule as King Gyanendra and his government try to crush Maoist rebels seeking to create a one-party communist state and who control about a quarter of the country.
Authorities fear more than 300 people died in two of the bloodiest attacks of the six-year rebellion on Thursday, including dozens of policemen forced to strip before being executed. Some were reportedly beheaded.
About 100 bodies have been recovered and officials said the area around Dang in Nepal's remote western region was littered with many more.
``The entire area is flooded with vultures, flying over looking for bodies,'' said police officer Lokendra Malla.
He said about 250 rebels were feared dead, including 45 bodies already recovered.
Rebel officials could not be immediately contacted.
``Soldiers are digging ditches for more rebel bodies,'' Dang district officer Mathur Prasad Yadav said. ``Bodies are scattered around the jungle, the fields and the riverbanks.''
Buildings were still smoldering on Sunday.
``It was a devastating scene out there,'' local journalist Sharat K.C. told Reuters by telephone from nearby Nepalgunj after visiting both sites.
Residents said the firefight raged for more than three hours and the guerrillas fled with their fallen comrades before dawn.
``On Friday morning, villagers saw two tractors packed with the bodies of rebels killed in the battles who might have been buried in the nearby jungle or riverside,'' a radio station in Kantipur said.
On Saturday, four people were taken from their homes and executed by a group of 50 people. No one has claimed responsibility, but officials blamed Maoist guerrillas.
The rebellion has wrecked Nepal's economy -- four percent of which comes from foreign tourism -- and forced the government to divert vital money away from development.
More than 3,500 people have been killed since the insurgency began in February 1996 -- about 1,500 of them since the rebels walked away from peace talks in November. The violence has devastated an economy dependent on tourism and aid.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nepal.html
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