Army guns down dozens of Maoists in Rolpa, Kailali

December 9, 2001
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Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 9 – Maoist rebels struck a communication tower Saturday night at Ratomate of Rolpa district, igniting a fire-fight with security forces that led to the deaths of about 50-60 Maoists and four soldiers.

Just hours later, in the far-western district of Kailali, 11 Maoists were killed on Sunday in a clash between soldiers and the rebels, according to army sources.

Officials in Dang say that Saturday night’s attack on the tower at Ratomate has disrupted communications in three districts. Bishnu Paudel, chief of Nepal Telecom Corp.’s Rapti Zonal office at Dang, said that the tower connects Rolpa, Rukum and Jajarkot into the nation’s telecom system.

Security sources here and in Dang, the operations base of the army, said that the tower came under fierce attack Saturday night when a large group of rebels tried to storm the tower and destroy it. But the attack was foiled by soldiers guarding the tower.

The Defense Ministry confirmed that the tower was targeted by “terrorists” but that security forces managed to foil the attack and save the tower. The Ministry also confirmed that about 50-60 dead bodies of “terrorists” were found at the site this morning. It also said that four soldiers who were defending the tower died in the rebel attack and another eight were wounded.

“About 50-60 dead bodies of terrorists were found scattered around the repeater station,” said the Defense Ministry statement. “It has been learnt that the surviving terrorists took away many other dead bodies and wounded comrades.”

The Ministry said that the “terrorists” used sophisticated weapons looted from the Dang barracks late last month. Some of the weapons – three LMGs and some others – were recovered by the army during the fighting, the statement said.

There have also been reports that one army helicopter was damaged in the operations but that has not been confirmed by the Defense Ministry.

The concerned tower, an important communication link, has been repeatedly targeted by the Maoists. After previous attacks, the government had put soldiers in charge of defending the tower.

Details about the fierce fighting at Ratomate is sketchy as the government has barred journalists from gathering information from battle zones where the army has been active since the imposition of emergency rule late last month.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry also said that two “terrorists” were killed and 25 others arrested Saturday night from Chaughada area of Nuwakot district.

In other developments, the Ministry said that six “terrorists” were arrested in Pandusen of Bajura district, 4 in Paanchmane of Kathmandu, 7 in Kamdi VDC of Banke, and two, including a regional Maoist commander, in Purbachisapani of Bardiya. All the arrests occurred on Saturday.

The Ministry also said that government troops had foiled a Maoist attack on a telecom repeater station in Salyan district’s Kapurkot.

The Defense Ministry, meanwhile, strongly attacked the “terrorists” for killing an ex-Royal Nepal Army soldier, Sitaram Rai. Rai died in a bomb attack on his house in Dhikure of Nuwakot district. The Ministry also said that “terrorists” killed the father of another soldier from the same village.

Meanwhile, reports from Dhangadi said that at least eleven Maoists were killed today in an encounter with the security forces in Sehari village of Beladevipur Village Development committee (VDC), Kailali.

Our reporter in Dhangadhi, citing security sources, said that the Maoists’ Kalikot district vice commander has also been killed in a clash which lasted for eight hours, starting from four in the morning till 12 noon today.

According to the District Administration Office (DAO), the incident took place 10 kilometre north-east from the district headquarters, Dhangadi when the Maoists all of a sudden launched an attack to the security forces who were busy in search operation.

The security forces comprising of Royal Nepal Army (RNA) and Armed Police Force (APF) immediately retaliated again Maoists’ attack compelling them to flee from the scene. Security force has seized six guns, explosives materials and the documents from the incident site, officials said.