Military

DATE=2/17/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=NEPAL/MAOISTS (L-O)

NUMBER=2-286559

BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA

DATELINE=NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

///// ED'S: PLEASE UPDATE CASUALTY FIGURES IN INTRO AS NEEDED. /////

INTRO: Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed 100-people, mostly policemen and soldiers, in a wave of attacks on government installations. Anjana Pasricha reports the attacks are being described as the worst assault by the rebels since they abandoned peace talks with the government last year.

TEXT: Officials say the Maoist rebels launched coordinated raids on a rural airport, a government office, and a police post in Accham district, about 600-kilometers west of the capital Kathmandu.

It is a remote region, making it difficult to get accurate information. But the attack on the district headquarters appears to have been the most deadly.

The rebels are reported to have killed the top district administrator and his wife along with several security personnel. Officials say the rebels controlled the headquarters until early Sunday, when paratroopers landed in the area. The headquarters are situated in a small town (Mangelsen) that has no roads.

Officials say communication links to the region have broken down. Troops have been sent to reinforce security - but bad weather and the mountainous terrain are slowing operations.

The Maoists have been fighting to establish a communist republic since 1996. In November last year, the government declared a state of emergency, and deployed the army to crush the rebellion after the rebels broke off peace talks with the government.

About 600-people, mostly rebels, have been killed since the emergency was declared - and official reports have suggested that the army was gaining the upper hand.

But the latest attacks are seen as a big challenge to the government, which plans to ask parliament Monday for a three-month extension of the emergency.

The Maoists have called for a nationwide strike next week (February 22nd-23rd) to mark the sixth anniversary of their uprising. The rebellion is seen as a threat to democracy in Nepal - one of the world's poorest countries. (SIGNED)

NEB/AP/RAE