[Excerpt: The authorities in Kathmandu told the BBC's Navin Singh Khadka
that 18 soldiers and policemen had been killed and another 60 wounded,
half of them seriously...More than 90 others, including security
personnel and local administrators had gone missing and dozens of rebels
had been killed, they said.]
news.bbc.co.uk
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March, 2004, 14:58 GMT
Deadly battle rages in west Nepal
The army said it laid an ambush for the rebels
The army in Nepal says its troops have killed scores of Maoist rebels
during clashes in the west of the country.
The day-long battle took place in the town of Beni, 300km (190 miles)
from the capital Kathmandu, officials said.
Casualty estimates vary, with a BBC reporter in Nepal saying dozens were
killed on both sides, while an army spokesman said 500 rebels had died.
Observers say similar government claims of heavy rebel losses have
rarely been independently confirmed in the past.
Lying in wait
The authorities in Kathmandu told the BBC's Navin Singh Khadka that 18
soldiers and policemen had been killed and another 60 wounded, half of
them seriously.
More than 90 others, including security personnel and local
administrators had gone missing and dozens of rebels had been killed,
they said.
The army put the number of dead much higher.
"On the basis of what our people and witnesses saw, we believe over 500
Maoists were killed and 200 others injured," army spokesman Col Deepak
Gurung said.
He said the army had been tipped off that the Maoists were planning to
attack Beni, in the Myagdi district.
As a result, they set an ambush and were waiting when between 1,500 and
2,000 rebels attacked.
The ensuing battle lasted all day, with the troops receiving
reinforcements by helicopter, Col Gurung said.
The Maoist rebels have been fighting to replace the monarchy with a
communist republic.
About 9,000 people have died in related violence in the past eight years.
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