UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JUNE 11-18,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 001141

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PTER CASC PGOV NP PHUM
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON NEPAL'S MAOIST INSURGENCY, JUNE 11-18,
2004

REFERENCE: (A) KATHMANDU 1095

(B) KATHMANDU 1119

SUMMARY
--------------


1. An early morning ambush by Maoists left 21 Armed Police
Force (APF) personnel dead and sixteen injured (Ref A).
Seven security personnel were killed and twenty-two suffered
injuries in other incidents this week. Indian police
arrested five Nepalese Maoists in the Indian state of Bihar.
Twenty-three insurgents reportedly also were killed this
week. Children forcibly recruited into the Maoists' army
alleged abuse at the hands of senior Maoists and were forced
to undergo weapons training. Over 1,800 civilians, mostly
students and teachers, were abducted this week. The
educational strike called by the student wing of the Maoists
reportedly has been called off after negotiations with a
government task force. Seven civilians were killed and 18
others injured. Maoist-planted bombs damaged government and
commercial establishments including an American-owned carpet
factory. End Summary.

MAOIST AMBUSH KILLS 21
--------------


2. A Maoist ambush in the far-western district of Banke of
an Armed Police Force (APF) convoy left 21 policemen dead
and sixteen injured (Ref A). Four others are missing.
Among the dead is the APF Inspector in charge of the
detachment. In the early morning of June 14, the convoy of
two trucks hit a command-detonated mine, and subsequently
came under small arms fire from the Maoists.


3. Five Royal Nepal Army (RNA) soldiers and two policemen
were killed by Maoists this week. On June 17, Maoists
attacked a group of plainclothes policemen in the western
district of Arghakhanchi, killing two and seriously wounding
two others. Five soldiers also died in Maoist ambushes: one
was killed and two injured in the central district of
Makwanpur on June 14; another in Damak on June 13; and one
was killed and one injured in the eastern district of Jhapa
on June 13. An RNA soldier was killed and two others
injured by a Maoist-laid landmine in the central district of
Makwanpur on June 12, and another soldier was injured in the
central district of Chitwan on June 11. On June 9, Maoists
shot dead two RNA personnel in the western district of
Tanahu.

MAOISTS ARRESTED IN INDIA
--------------


4. On June 12, Indian police reportedly detained five
Nepalese Maoists in the Indian state of Bihar bordering
Nepal's central lowland district of Bara. During a raid on
the Maoists' safe house, the police recovered guns and
ammunition. The Tamang Autonomous Revolutionary People's
Council, a Maoist affiliated organization, announced a ban
on Indian vehicles and screenings of Indian films from June
15 to 21 in the central districts of Makwanpur, Dhading,
Nuwakot and Rasuwa to protest the arrests. The ban was
lifted on June 16.

MAOISTS KILLED
--------------


5. Twenty-three insurgents were killed and twenty-five
injured in clashes with security forces this week: three in
Ramechhap on June 17; three in the eastern district of Jhapa
on June 13; two in the western district of Lamjung on June
12; ten rebels were killed and twenty-five sustained
injuries in the eastern district of Terhathum on June 13;
three in the far-western district of Kailali district, and
one insurgent in the far-western district of Doti on June


6. On June 11, a Maoist was killed in the eastern district
of Terhathum. On that same day, a Maoist district member
was also killed in the central district of Sarlahi and
another in the mid-western district of Dolpa. Security
forces shot dead a Maoist area committee member in the far-
western district of Dadeldhura on June 11. On June 15, one
rebel was killed in the central district of Dhading, and
another in the far-western district of Kanchanpur; four were
killed in the far-western district of Bajura, and another in
the mid-western district of Jumla on June 16; and on the
same day, one rebel was killed in the eastern district of
Panchthar.

ALLEGED CHILD ABUSE IN MAOIST CAMPS
--------------


7. On May 30, the local press reported that three Maoists
"cadres" in the eastern district of Taplejung attacked and
killed their own commander and injured another to avenge
abuse inflicted against them. A follow-up article on June
10 revealed that these "cadres" were sixteen-year-old boys
who had been forced to join the Maoist army. The boys
alleged that they were treated "very cruelly" by senior
Maoists and forced to undergo weapons training. The three
boys, who surrendered to security forces after the murder of
their commander, said they were also forced to carry heavy
bags, pressure cooker bombs, ammunition, and guns. Security
officials in the eastern district also rescued two children,
eleven and fourteen, who had been forcibly recruited. The
children will be placed in a rehabilitation center.

MAOISTS INTENSIFY ABDUCTION
--------------


8. According to the local press, the insurgents abducted
over 1,800 civilians across the country this week to
participate in Maoist programs: 500 students from the far-
western district of Dadeldhura on June 11; 18 students from
the eastern district of Udayapur on June 10; and 200
students on June 11; four-dozen teachers from the western
district of Tanahu on June 12; 49 civilians, including 38
teachers, from the eastern district of Dhankuta on June 9;
11 civilians from the far-western district of Doti on June
10, and 79 civilians, including 76 local businessmen, from
the central district of Sindhuli on June 13; On June 12, two-
dozen teachers from the western district of Lamjung, and 500
civilians, including 45 teachers, from the mid-western
district of Kalikot on June 6; 40 students from the eastern
district of Taplejung on June 13, and on June 8, six
civilians from the mid-western district of Surkhet; three
civilians from the western district of Gorkha on June 13.
The rebels also reportedly abducted a Junior Technical
Assistant (JTA) of Agriculture Development Office in the
eastern district of Siraha on June 10, and a Royal Nepal
Army (RNA) soldier in the western district of Syangja on
June 12. Maoists reportedly abducted 300 students from the
far-western district of Baitadi, and 90 others from the
eastern district of Taplejung on June 16.

SCHOOLS TO REOPEN
--------------


9. On June 17, the All Nepal National Independent Union
(Revolutionary),the Maoist affiliated student wing,
reportedly agreed to call off the nationwide education
strike in affect since June 6. A special Government of
Nepal (GON) task force formed to help resolve the
educational chaos said the strike would be called off and
the government would withdraw the "terrorist" tag it had
placed on the group "within a few days." ANNISU-R demanded
that tag be lifted as one of their preconditions for
negotiations. They are also demanding that the government
provide free education for secondary level students and a
reduction of 20 percent in tuition at private schools.


10. On June 14, the local press reported that ANNISU-R had
called off the educational strike in rural parts of the mid-
western district of Surkhet. Schools in that district
reportedly reopened on June 13, following the announcements.

MORE CIVILIANS KILLED
--------------


11. The Maoist insurgency continues to claim civilian
lives. Armed rebels reportedly shot dead a civilian in the
central district of Bara on June 14, and another in the
western district of Rupandehi on June 10. The rebels also
reportedly killed two civilians after abducting them in the
eastern district of Siraha on June 12. On June 13, in the
western district of Kapilbastu, two people were killed,
including a child, and three others, two of whom were
children, suffered injuries when the children started
playing with a bomb left by the Maoists and it exploded. On
June 13, Maoists shot dead a teacher in Kathmandu. A
government official was also shot and wounded in the capital
on June 10. At least seven civilians reportedly were
injured when a group of Maoists detonated a bomb in the
residence of the district president of the Nepali Congress
(Democratic) in the mid-western district of Dailekh on June

10.

INDISCRIMINATE BOMBINGS CONTINUE
--------------


12. On June 12, a powerful bomb ripped through an American-
owned carpet factory in Kathmandu (Ref B). The factory was
closed at the time and no injuries were reported. However,
the explosion blew off the roof, and shattered all the
windows, causing over USD 5000 in damages. (Note: There is
no indication at this time that the factory was targeted
because of American ownership. End note). On June 11,
Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at a repeater tower of the
Nepal Telecom Limited in the eastern district of Sunsari.
Equipment worth USD 135,000 was damaged in the blast. On
the same day, the insurgents reportedly detonated a bomb at
a seed production office in Sunsari district. On June 9,
the rebels reportedly detonated a powerful bomb inside the
Land Conservation Office in the western district of Tanahu,
causing damage to seven rooms of the building. On June 13,
Maoists also blasted the premises of Shiva Mandir VDC in
Tanahu district causing damage to doors, windows, furniture
and documents. On June 14, Maoists torched two government
vehicles in the western district of Nawalparasi.

BOGUE