LARGE GROUP OF NEPALI MAOISTS ATTACK VILLAGE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001371

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2012
TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC PHUM PREL NP
SUBJECT: LARGE GROUP OF NEPALI MAOISTS ATTACK VILLAGE,
SINGLING OUT VICTIMS

REF: A. KATHMANDU 1198

B. KATHMANDU 1053

C. KATHMANDU 915

Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski, Reasons 1.5(b),(d)


1. (C) Summary. Several hundred Maoists attacked a village
near western Nepal's largest city July 10, killing two
mainstream party workers apparently in retaliation for
cooperating with security forces. The attackers also
brutalized other villagers and warned family members of the
victims not to hold funeral rites. The Maoists had not
engaged in large-scale operations since June 15, the date
marking the beginning of a month-long unilateral cease-fire
called--and later retracted--by Maoist leader Prachanda.
During this time, however, the insurgents continued to kidnap
and execute soldiers and government workers, as well as
individual civilians such as teachers. In the period since
they repulsed a major Maoist offensive on May 27, security
forces seem increasingly to have the upper hand. End Summary.

Maoist Mob Raids Village, Killing Two...
--------------


2. (SBU) Hundreds of Maoists regulars raided a village near
Nepalgunj in the western lowlands on July 10, killing two and
injuring seven others, police sources relate. Between three
and four hundred Maoists reportedly entered the village of
Samshergunj, about seven kilometers northwest of Nepalgunj,
about 9 p.m. They dragged two men from their houses and
summarily executed them. The men were activists for the
leftist Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist
(CPN-UML) and rightist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP),
respectively. The insurgents also destroyed houses in the
village. Police believe the attack came in revenge for a
June incident where two Maoists were apprehended by villagers
and turned over to authorities.

Beating and Threatening Others
--------------


3. (C) The Chief District Officer (CDO) for Banke district
related that the two men killed July 10 had been beaten
before they were shot. According to press reports, funerals
for the two men could not be held on time because Maoists
threatened the families with violence if they proceeded with
the last rites. The CDO also noted that during the raid
other villagers had had their legs broken with iron rods.


4. (SBU) Representatives of the Human Rights Organization of
Nepal (HURON) told us that they planned to send a team to the
village July 14 to investigate.

First Large-Scale Maoist Attack in Month
--------------


5. (SBU) The July 10 incident was the Maoists' first
large-scale offensive military operation since its
opportunistic encounter with a bivouaced Royal Nepalese Army
(RNA) company June 12 (Ref A). (Note: In another, similar
encounter in late June, Maoists ran into a joint security
patrol in remote eastern Dhankuta district and killed one
policeman. End Note.) In a May announcement which was later
disavowed, Maoist leader Prachanda indicated that the Maoists
would unilaterally declare a cease-fire during the Nepali
month of Asadh, which began June 15 (Ref C). July 10 was the
twenty-sixth day of the twenty-nine day month. The only
other major incident during Asadh was the July 5 bombing of
the Prime Minister's party office in Kathmandu (Ref 1315).

Abductions, Killings Continue
--------------


6. (C) During the past month the Maoists have not launched
attacks against the security forces' fixed positions.
However, during this period Maoists have conducted numerous
raids like the July 10 Nepalgunj incident. In such raids at
least four RNA soldiers have been abducted from their homes
and later killed. On other occasions the insurgents have
used this tactic against civilians as well, taking school
principals, teachers, farmers, party workers, postmen and kin
of military or police officers from their homes and killing
them. Most of these incidents involved only small groups of
Maoists, however, and not two or three hundred as reportedly
were involved in the July 10 incident.
A Likely Anomoly
--------------


7. (C) It remains unclear whether recent events reflect a
change in the Maoists' tactics, a de facto unilateral
cease-fire, an expedient reaction to the increased
effectiveness of the security forces, or a combination of all
of the above. The previous lull dated from May 27, when the
army repulsed a large-scale Maoist attack on security forces
in Rukum (Ref B). Indications are that the RNA has become
both more sophisticated and more confident in recent weeks,
and the insurgents have been weakened as a result. Except as
another example of the Maoists' continued efforts to instill
fear in their countrymen, the July 10 attack, only a few
miles from a major RNA installation in Nepalgunj, seems
vindictively anomalous.
MALINOWSKI