| Maoist rebels attacked a police station during the night in southern Nepal, killing at least nine policemen, officials said Monday. About 400 rebels were involved in the overnight attack in the village of Yadukuna, about 190 miles southeast of the capital, Katmandu, said police official Tokendra Hamal. Nine police officers were killed and 26 were missing and feared to have been abducted by the rebels, he said. Fighting between the rebels, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and government forces has escalated since the guerrillas withdrew from a seven-month cease-fire in August. The rebels have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state. The insurgency has claimed more than 9,000 lives. |