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Journalism of Courage
Hundreds of Maoists attacked a police post in Nepal’s border district of Ilam, killing two policemen and abducting 42 others, officials said today. In a late night attack on the police post manned by 62 policemen at Pashupatinagar, Maoists killed two policemen, Home Ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey said. While the rebels abducted 42 policemen, 18 others managed to make contact with the administration, it was reported.
Meanwhile, the US State Department warned US citizens to defer non-essential travel to Nepal amid reports of US trekkers being detained by rebels in the Himalayan kingdom.
‘‘The US Embassy (in Nepal) has received two reports of US trekkers being detained by Maoists, in one case for several days,’’ the notice said yesterday. No details of the Americans were given.
The Maoist rebels have been waging their ‘‘people’s war’’ since 1996 to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and install a Communist republic. The State Department said yesterday that businesses identified with the US had been attacked and that some private vehicles transporting foreigners, including two Americans, were stopped by Maoists and burned after passengers were forced to disembark.
Interrupted telephone services to many trekking areas caused by destruction of communications infrastructure make it difficult to locate travellers, the statement said.
