The Royal Nepalese Army said it has launched an operation to round up communist rebels in the Himalayan kingdom's mid-west following reports that guerrillas were planning a major attack.
The operation began Thursday in Rukum district, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital, Katmandu, and in a half dozen other districts known as Maoist rebel strongholds, army spokesman Rajendra Thapa said.
"The operation is to break the so-called base area of the rebels," he said.
He refused to say how many soldiers were involved. But officials speaking on condition of anonymity from operation headquarters in the southwestern border city of Nepalgunj said hundreds of troops have been deployed.
The operation will provide rebel fighters with an opportunity to surrender to the authorities, Thapa said. The government says more than 900 rebels have surrendered since it announced an amnesty in December last year.
No major clashes between the troops and the rebels were reported. The operation follows information that guerrillas had gathered in the area _ which is largely rebel-controlled _ to launch a major attack. Thapa did not provide details, although rebels sometimes stage attacks on government offices, military bases and police stations in district capitals.
The rebels, who have been fighting since February 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state, say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. The insurgency has claimed more than 9,000 lives.
{{/usCountry}}The rebels, who have been fighting since February 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state, say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. The insurgency has claimed more than 9,000 lives.
{{/usCountry}}Fighting has escalated since the rebels withdrew from a cease-fire in August.