Maoists killed 27 policeman at a Nepalese airport and in a separate incident took over a prison and freed all the prisoners, mostly Maoist comrades.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is scheduled to table a motion in parliament Monday seeking the extension of the current national emergency for another three months.
Meanwhile, 27 policemen guarding Sanfebagar airport in Acham also died in a rebel attack bringing to 129 the number of security personnel, government officials and civilians killed in Acham district 600 kms northwest of the capital, the Defence and Home Ministry said.
Fourteen army platoons Monday are continuing mopping up operations against rebels who have fled into the nearly jungles of district headquarters Mangalsen, a source said. Army reinforcements Sunday went in hot pursuit of the Maoists who fled with Rs.20 million looted from a bank; the rebels also freed 14 prisoners from the district jail.
The rebels completely destroyed the army barracks, stole weapons and killed 48 soldiers and injured one in the deadliest attack on the army since November 23 when they hit a barrack at Ghorai in Dang.
Katmandu Post 2/18/01
The Maoist rebels were wielding "sophisticated guns" that they looted from a Dang garrison of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) on November 24, 2001.
Highly placed police and army sources said that the rebels also looted Rs 20 million from a Mangalsen bank. They also attacked the local jail and set free all the inmates, most of whom were alleged Maoist sympathisers.
Original: Maoist rebels kill 27 police and free political prisoners