The United States is to provide Nepal with 10 sophisticated helicopters to ''fight terrorism'' in the country, Nepalese newspapers reported on Monday.
The newspapers said the Nepalese state minister for home, Devendra Raj Kandel, revealed this at a public function at the tourist township of Pokhara, about 125 kilometres west of the capital, on Sunday. US defence officials in Washington could not be reached for comment.
Addressing his party workers in Pokhara, state minister Kandel said that the US government has already committed itself to supplying 10 modern fully armed helicopters to help the government control ''terrorism.''
Though he did not specify when the choppers were arriving in the country, he clearly hinted that they would be used to curb the ongoing six-year-old Maoist insurgency. ''The helicopters are being provided to establish law and order in the country and will be used by the newly formed armed police force and the Nepal police,'' he said.
A six year old Maoist insurgency aimed at setting up a Communist state in Nepal has cost almost 1900 lives and the Maoists also control sizeable chunks of territory in remote parts of Nepal.
Government's anti-insurgency measures were hampered by the country's difficult mountain terrain and lack of helicopters to rapidly deploy security forces. State minister Kandel added: ''Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the US is committed to eliminate terrorism from the globe and its promise of supplying the helicopters to US is part of that goal.''
According to state minister Kandel, plans are presently underway to deploy the newly raised armed police force in the western districts of Parbhat, Tanahun and Nawalparashi.
Bureau Report