Nepal rebels offer ceasefire

The leader of Nepal’s communist rebels today offered a month long ceasefire in the six year guerrilla war after a week of fierce fighting in which the government said hundreds of combatants have been killed.

The guerrillas, fighting since 1996 to topple the Himalayan kingdom’s constitutional monarchy and to redistribute land to the poor, withdrew from a western stronghold after overrunning it on Tuesday night and killing at least 100 government forces.

State-run radio said 250 rebels were killed in the most intense fighting of the war at the remote village of Gam, where the Maoist rebellion began.

A signed statement by the rebel commander, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachand, was faxed to news media and government offices today, saying a ceasefire could begin next Wednesday, but that the government must reciprocate.

The Maoists have twice declared truces in the past, and on both occasions resumed attacks on government targets.

The last ceasefire was broken in November, after Maoist leaders held three rounds of peace talks with the government, then declared a stalemate and resumed fighting.

King Gyanendra responded with a state of emergency declaration that allowed wide powers of detention without trial and ordered the army for the first time to join the poorly equipped police in fighting the insurgents.

The rebel statement said: ‘‘We are offering a ceasefire for a month from May 15.’’

It added, however, ‘‘Even during the period of ceasefire, if the government does not stop the killings of the sons and daughters of the nation, the oppression and the anti-national acts, we will be compelled to launch an even more deadly and decisive war.’’

There was no immediate reaction from the government.

Senior army officers said that 500 Maoists swarmed the Gam garrison in a surprise assault on Tuesday night. The rebels suffered heavy casualties as they advanced in the face of gunfire from the surrounded, outnumbered soldiers and police.

The rebels slaughtered all the government troops, and communication links were broken, so the battle description came from local civilians and police, the army officers said.

Bad weather delayed the arrival of reinforcement troops by a day, and it was uncertain when the rebels withdrew, but they were gone today and the fighting had ended, the officers said.

The guerrillas usually seize guns and ammunition after overrunning government positions, and take their own dead with them or bury them, making casualty counts difficult.

The fighting began as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and President George Bush met in Washington to discuss US aid for Nepal.

Nepal wants helicopter gunships and other heavy weaponry to crush the rebels.

For years, the Maoists have won support from villagers through fear - and also sympathy, because of the abject poverty, lingering feudal practices and caste discrimination in the Hindu kingdom.

The rebels, who admire the late Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have seen their popularity wane in large parts of the country after many civilians were killed in the fighting.

Human rights groups have accused the rebels and the government of killing and torturing civilians and depriving them of their rights in the war that has taken more than 3,000 lives.