Nepalese soldiers killed 48 Maoist rebels in the country's west after the guerrillas launched their bloodiest attack in the six-year revolt to topple the constitutional monarchy, the government said today.
The guerrillas died in five separate clashes yesterday, the Defence Ministry said. A ministry spokesman told
Reuters
no soldiers were injured.
Nepal's parliament is expected to approve on Thursday a government request to extend a three-month-old state of emergency for another three months, giving security forces extra powers in the fight against what the government calls terrorists.
The rebels staged their deadliest offensive of the rebellion on the weekend in which 167 people died. The revolt has killed more than 2,600 and badly hit the economy of one of the world's poorest countries.