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Nepal Maoists launch major offensives
From Suman Pradhan
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Maoist rebels have struck two mountain towns in Nepal, killing at least 68 police and soldiers. The fresh bout of fighting between Nepalese troops and the Maoists has also led to "dozens" of rebel casualties, government officials said on Friday. In some of the fiercest fighting seen since the six-year rebellion began in this South Asian country, thousands of rebels stormed the town of Khalanga, torching buildings as they went. In the Thursday night attack, at least 30 police and three soldiers were killed along with an unknown number of Maoist fighters. Security forces began a search and destroy mission Friday morning to track down the fleeing rebels, using helicopter gunships and troop reinforcements. Meanwhile an attack on a police post in the northwestern Gorkha district killed at least 23 people Thursday night. Earlier Thursday, officials said they were trying to start a dialogue with the rebels, who are waging a campaign to rid Nepal of a feudal system they say favors only a small urban elite. Since the rebellion began, more than 3,000 people have been killed and the Himalayan kingdom's already weak economy has been battered. The assaults followed a national strike earlier this week called by the rebels, who are inspired by the revolutionary ideas of the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. The government calls them terrorists.
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