Rebels declare three-month ceasefire in Nepal

Nepal’s communist rebels today declared a three-month halt in attacks, lifting a key burden on the new government poised to take control after weeks of bloody protests forced King Gyanendra to reinstate Parliament.

The elusive leader of the Himalayan country’s Maoist rebels, Prachanda, said in a statement that his group’s fighters would refrain from any assaults on government targets for three months to give the country a chance for peace.