Nepalese soldiers kill 76 Maoist rebels

Nepalese soldiers have killed 76 Maoist rebels during a weekend offensive against a guerrilla movement which has been fighting the country’s government since 1996.

The military said it killed 67 rebels in the Kalikot district on Saturday, while nine others were killed in other operations in recent days.

Kalikot is on the eastern border of Achham district, where the rebels killed 137 soldiers and policemen in a series of attacks two weeks ago.

More than 2,600 people have died in the seven years since the Maoist rebels began fighting for the abolition of Nepal’s constitutional monarchy and the installation of a socialist regime.

The Nepalese military said 342 people have been killed on both sides in the last nine days of fighting.