Kathmandu, Dec 05: Suspected Maoist rebels abducted some 200 teenagers from two schools in western Nepal, a security official said today. Armed rebels yesterday raided the Nandeswari secondary school in Achham district of Kathmandu, and took away 130 boys and girls, the official said.
Seventy other students were taken away yesterday from the Bindeswari school in the same district, he said.
The official said security forces did not know where the children were taken but that troops had launched a search.
He said the rebels may have wanted to train the children as reinforcements for their self-styled People's Liberation Army.
It was not possible to independently verify the incidents which occurred in remote areas.
Officials say at least 300 teachers and students have died since the Maoists launched their insurgency in 1996, with the rebels viewing schools as symbols of government authority.
More than 8,300 people have been killed in the Maoists' nearly eight-year insurrection aimed at overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a communist republic.
Bureau Report