KATHMANDU, Jan. 6 Kyodo A shipmen...

KATHMANDU, Jan. 6 Kyodo

A shipment of U.S.-made assault rifles which the guidance ordered to fight the ongoing Maoist insurgency arrived in Nepal forward Sunday, a Nepalese command source said.

Last January, U Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed during a visit here to provide modern weapons to Nepal to prop up the Himalayan kingdom's antiterrorism campaign.

Washington has also pledg $17 million in military training and equipment, including light weaponry and night-vision gear.

The 3000 M-16 A-2 assault rifles will replace the Nepalese army's traditional self-loading rifles, the source said.

Nepal had earlier procur about 5000 M-16 fire-arms which its uses mainly to train Nepalese soldiers for UN peacekeeping missions. Another 500 sub-machine fire-arms imported from Belgium are also awaited to arrive this week.

Nepalese human rights organizations have criticized the government's management of modern weapons, saying it will escalate the violence and eventuate in more killings of innocent civilians.

There are also widespread fears the of the present day weapons could fall into rebel hands.

Maoist rebels have no known source of arms and supplies, yet they have captured weapons from security forces during raids at police pillars and army barracks.

According to unofficial figures, the rebels have in this way far snared more than 1000 weapons, including light machine fire-arms and Belgian-made automatic rifles.

The rebels took up arms against the sway in 1996, demanding a of recent origin constitution to replace Nepal's general basic law.

They want to upset the country's monarchy and establish a one-party communist republic in Nepal.

According to dominion figures, more than 7,200 Nepalese have been killed since the outbreak of the communist insurgency.

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