Six years of rebellion by Nepal's Maoist guerillas has cost the lives of more than 3,000 people and battered the Himalayan kingdom's already weak economy.

The government calls them terrorists, but Maoist leaders say they are fighting on behalf of the majority rural poor to rid the country of a feudal system that favors only a small urban elite.

In this in-depth report CNN looks at Nepal's Maoist rebellion, the inspiration driving its leaders and government efforts to crush it.