38 reported dead as Nepal goes on offensive with raid on Maoist stronghold

KATHMANDU, Sept 17 (AFP) - Nepal's army Wednesday attacked a Maoist bunker in the rebels' mountain stronghold killing at least 38 people, state radio said, in an offensive a day before the guerrillas plan to shut the kingdom down with a strike.

In the deadliest battle since the rebels ended a ceasefire August 27, an army helicopter early Wednesday fired down on a base believed to be used by senior Maoists before troops and police raided the complex from three sides, officials said.

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State radio said 35 Maoists and three soldiers were killed. But an army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the bodies of 44 Maoists had been recovered and that more than 100 rebels could have died in the assault, which was continuing Wednesday night.

The army official said six soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded. The toll from the attack in the rural Rolpa district, 460 kilometers (288 miles) west of Kathmandu, was impossible to verify independently.

The official described the complex in the Bhawang area as a "fortress" surrounded by sandbags and imposing stones to ensure the safety of the Maoists' personnel and supplies.

The Rolpa district is where the Maoists declared their "people's war" in February 1996. Since then the insurgency has claimed some 8,000 lives including 180 since the end of the truce, according to official figures.

The offensive marks a turning point in the approach of Nepalese government leaders, some of whom just days ago speculated aloud about restarting talks with the Maoists despite sporadic skirmishes around the kingdom.

But government spokesman Kamal Thapa said Tuesday that talks were off the cards until the Maoists committed to peace and authorities Wednesday imposed a night curfew in Kathmandu ahead of a three-day nationwide strike.

The rebels called on all schools, businesses and transport operators to shut down from Thursday to Saturday to press their core demands, namely the abolition of the monarchy which they claim only serves the Himalayan country's wealthy minority.

The Maoists ended the truce after the government refused to call a special assembly to redraw the constitution.

"We have made adequate security arrangements to protect people and to protect government buildings and public utilities during the strike," home ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey said.

He said the capital would be under curfew for seven hours from 9:00 pm Wednesday and that the government would decide Thursday whether to extend the order.

Nepal's tourism industry, a key income earner, fears the curfews will make the kingdom seem unstable to foreign visitors, whose arrivals shot up by nearly a quarter during the truce.

In Kathmandu police also imposed a temporary ban on motorcyclists carrying any passengers or bags. Maoists often travel by motorbike when they ambush security forces.

Four people were killed in separate violence around the kingdom.

An army official said police shot dead three Maoists who fired on them Wednesday in the Tanhau district, 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Kathmandu.

He said Maoists also shot dead a police inspector, Gambir Shah, and wounded three other policemen when they attacked a station in Rautahat district, 280 kilometers (175) south of the capital and near the Indian border.

Meanwhile, a court late Tuesday ordered 21 Maoists including rebel supremo Prachanda to appear within 70 days or face arrest over the January killing of Krishna Mohan Shrestha, chief of the kingdom's Armed Police Force.

Prachanda, a former schoolteacher whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, makes few public appearances, generally relying on messengers or the internet to make statements.

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