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Maoists in Nepal Kill 41 Police and Civilians VOA News 22 Feb 2002 11:10 UTC 
Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed 41 people, most of them policemen, in two separate attacks in western regions of the country.
Police say several hundred rebels raided a remote police post (Sitalpati), about 260 kilometers west of the capital, Kathmandu, late Thursday. They say 32 policemen and four rebels died in that attack.
In the second incident, five people were killed and four others wounded in a nearby district (Chitaun) early Friday morning, when rebels threw a gasoline bomb into a bus.
The attacks came after Parliament voted Thursday to extend a state of emergency that gives security forces additional powers to combat the insurgency. The state of emergency was imposed in November, when the rebels suddenly broke off peace talks and resumed their bloody campaign. It will now run an additional three months, until May 25.
In the past few days, more than 180 people have been killed in the region, both as a result of rebel attacks and subsequent crackdowns by security forces. The victims include soldiers, policemen, rebels and civilians.
In Kathmandu Friday, an explosion of a home-made bomb injured one person. Most of the city's shops were closed in response to a nationwide strike called by the Maoists. The rebels are marking the sixth anniversary of their campaign to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy.
More than 2,400 people have been killed since the Maoists began fighting in 1996. The rebels draw their inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung.
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