Maoist rebels storm office

MORE than 1,000 Maoists launched a violent assault on a district headquarters in Nepal’s northwestern mountains, as angry traders rallied on the streets of Kathmandu to protest a crippling rebel blockade of the capital, now also hit by a general strike.

The rebels attacked Khalanga, the headquarters of the Jumla district, late Saturday and fought security forces for about six hours, said Keshav Prasad Baral, deputy inspector general of police in the western city of Nepalgunj.

He said the exact casualty figure was not known from the clash in Jumla, one of the most remote districts of the Himalayan kingdom and about 445 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu. But he said one soldier was killed and six policemen were missing.