Dozens of security personnel, Maoist insurgents and civilians are feared to have been killed in overnight clashes on Sunday in remote, mid-western district of Kalikot.

According to latest reports, eighty security personnel have come back into contact while over 150 security personnel, including Colonel Raju Devkota of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), are said to be ‘out of contact.’

Reports said security reinforcement had not been able to reach the site of the clash till Monday evening. Believed to be the biggest clashes since the royal takeover, Maoists have claimed that over 150 security personnel were killed during the clashes. They said they lost 26 comrades on their side.

RNA officials, however, have brushed aside the Maoist claims and said it was unfounded. RNA said at least a soldier was killed and three others were injured during the overnight clashes. They said they were still awaiting for details.

Reports say the temporary security base of the RNA had been set up at Pili in order to man the under-construction Karnali highway that would serve as lifeline for the most backward region in the country– upon its completion.

The Royal Nepalese Army said around one hundred civilians, working as construction workers, were also staying inside the temporary security base when the Maoists mounted attack. Their fate remains unknown.