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Rebels release 41 policemen after three weeks
Communist rebels freed 41 policemen at a remote mountainous village in east Nepal three weeks after they were seized at gunpoint, said the police.
Communist rebels freed 41 policemen at a remote mountainous village in east Nepal three weeks after they were seized at gunpoint, police said.
Police officials reached over the telephone said the policemen were handed over to Red Cross officials at Gufapokhari village, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) east of the capital, Katmandu. The released hostages were safe and in good health, an official speaking on condition of anonymity said. They were being transported to the nearest city, but no further details were immediately available.
The release follows pleas by various human rights organizations. The police were captured after the rebels, battling to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist state, attacked a police outpost on April 7.
At least three policemen killed in the raid at Pashupatinagar, a town on the border with India.
It is the second time this month the rebels have freed policemen captured during raids. Earlier this month, they released 36 security forces personnel and a government official.
The rebels say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have been fighting since February 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state. The insurgency has claimed more than 9,000 lives.
Fighting has escalated since the insurgents withdrew from a cease-fire agreement in August. The rebels walked out of peace talks and resumed attacks on government and civilian targets.
