More than 1,000 Maoists launched a violent assault on a district headquarters in Nepal's north-western mountains, officials said Sunday, 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 (278 miles) north-west of Kathmandu. But he said one soldier was killed and six policemen were missing.
"The rebels also broke into jail to rescue five prisoners, while they kidnapped six policemen," Baral said.
He said the rebels bombed the airport and several government buildings, badly damaging a police post, a development office and a land revenue bureau. A police post normally has around 150 men.
Baral said the army sent a night vision helicopter over the city to monitor the situation. The Maoists, who are strongest in rural Nepal, lack weapons adapted to night-time fighting.
Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka told AFP that the rebels had also taken hostage an unknown number of junior officials of the local revenue office and the post office.
Police at Khalanga said the bodies of five dead rebels had been found. Locals said the rebels had physically carried some 20 to 25 wounded colleagues.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to turn the kingdom into a communist republic, a struggle which has claimed nearly 10,000 lives.
The guerrillas on Wednesday launched their first blockade of Kathmandu, a city of 1.5 million people, sending prices soaring in local markets and putting pressure on the government, which was installed just two months ago.
While there has been limited violence in the capital, security was tightened Sunday as industrialists and other opponents of the Maoists marched through the city, burning tyres and chanting slogans.
Trucks of police and soldiers were stationed at intersections throughout the capital, with armed guards setting up checkpoints on key roads, witnesses said.
Very few vehicles were seen moving on the streets of Kathmandu due to a general strike called by victims of Maoist rebel activities. They have been joined in their strike by students protesting an increase in the price of petroleum products.
The Nepal Consumers Forum said the combined effect of the blockade and the strike had seen inter-city traffic coming to a near-halt Sunday, despite increased security along the highways.
The protestors marched through the main streets of the capital and later gathered for a public meeting in which several leaders strongly denounced the Maoists.
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