A battalion of Maoist insurgents gather in
Rukum district April 22, 2004 weeks after their
attack on government troops in Beni when they overran the district
headquarters, looting a bank, destroying the jail and torching government
office buildings. The government said that 32 security personnel died in the
clash and 37 were kidnapped. The clash was one of the deadliest since 1996
when fighting began to topple the constitutional monarchy and install a
communist republic. The guerrillas' strength is hard to gauge. Analysts and
diplomats estimate there about 15,000-20,000 hard-core fighters, including
many women, backed by 50,000 'militia'. In their remote strongholds, they
collect taxes and have set up civil administrations, and 'people's courts' to
settle rows. They also raise money by taxing villagers and foreign trekkers.
Though young, they are fearsome fighters and specialize in night attacks and
hit-and-run raids. They are tough in Nepal's rugged terrain, full of thick
forests and deep ravines and the 150,000 government soldiers are not enough
to combat this growing movement that models itself after the Shining Path of
Peru.