Kathmandu, July 23: Nepal has shifted troops and police and will monitor the sale of items used by Maoist rebels in new signs of trouble for the kingdom's peace process, official sources said today. The Maoists have sent a letter to the government demanding imprisoned rebels be released and that movement of troops outside their barracks be restricted as conditions for a new round of peace talks, officials said. "The letter has been received and the cabinet will meet Thursday to discuss it," a highly placed official source told a news agency . Another government official said on condition of anonymity that the army, police and security personnel were meeting daily to ensure they were alert should violence erupt, while troops and police on leave have been ordered to return immediately to their bases.

Police have also been told to monitor, and if necessary restrict, the purchases of camouflage clothing, pressure cookers and galvanized iron pipes, which the Maoists have used in the past to make bombs. "This is to protect security personnel from Maoists who may try to put on similar uniforms to them," the official said.

Apart from a few small-scale skirmishes, Nepal has been at peace since the Maoists and the government reached a ceasefire on January 29. More than 7,800 people have died fighting since the Maoists in February 1996 declared a "people's war" to topple the constitutional monarchy.


Bureau Report