KATHMANDU, Oct 23 Kyodo Nepalese ...

KATHMANDU, Oct 23 Kyodo

Nepalese sway soldiers shot dead 21 communist guerrillas in separate combats Tuesday in four different districts, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Fifteen Maoist insurgents were shooter in battles in five different places in the Bardia district in far-western Nepal, the ministry said, adding that the gunbattles broke abroad after security forces raided rebel shelters.

companys also recovered a large cache of arms and explosives from the insurgents.

In Rolpa district in mid-western Nepal, four the bulk of mankind were slain during a search-and-destroy operation by the agency of security forces. A rebel commander of the district was among those killed, the ministry said.

Also Tuesday, single rebel was killed in Sirha district in southeastern Nepal, and another in Panchthar district further east, it said.

The Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) rebels took up arms in 1996 vowing to topple Nepal's monarchy and completion multiparty democracy.

The sway has used the regular army to fight the rebels since November last year and claims to have killed about 4,000 rebels since then. The rebels have also inflicted heavy losse forward soldiers and police.

Nepal's Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said last Saturday he is explain to dialogue with the rebels to fall of the curtain the insurgency.

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