Nepalese rebels abduct 90 students
Communist rebels in Nepal have abducted about 90 high schools students from their classrooms in a remote mountain village last week, the army said today.
The condition and whereabouts of the ninth- and tenth-grade students of Nepal Rastriya High School, however, was still unknown.
The Royal Nepalese Army headquarters in Katmandu said they were taken by the rebels on June 22 from Paudiamrai village, 190 miles west of the capital, Katmandu.
The village is in a remote part of the Gumli district, a mountainous area where there is a strong rebel presence.
Local government officials said there have been increasing reports of students being taken from schools by the rebels.
“We have had many reports of student being taken by the Maoist (guerrillas) this month,” said Durga Pokhrel, the chief administrative officer of the district.
Pokhrel said these students are typically taken from their schools and kept by the rebels for two or three days to be indoctrinated in communist ideology before being released and sent back to their villages.
About 250 students were taken from a nearby village on June 15 and sent back three days later.
However, the abduction of the 90 students – whose whereabouts have been unknown for several days – has officials concerned.
The village where the kidnapping occurred is in a remote area with no army or police bases nearby and mostly controlled by the rebels.
The guerrillas have stepped up violence since King Gyanendra took absolute power in February promising to quell the insurgency.
The rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to abolish Nepal’s constitutional monarchy and set up a communist state.
The insurgency has left more than 11,500 people dead.
