DATE= 05/09/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= NEPAL CEASEFIRE / S-L COMBO

NUMBER=2-289619

BYLINE= JIM TEEPLE

DATELINE= NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Maoist Rebels in Nepal say they are declaring a one-month

ceasefire. V-O-As Jim Teeple reports from our South Asia Bureau in

New Delhi, the cease-fire announcement follows news that several

hundred soldiers, policemen, civilians and rebels have been killed in

the worst fighting yet in the six year-old Maoist insurgency.

TEXT: A faxed statement to news agencies signed by Maoist leader,

Pushpa Kaman Doha, known as Prachand says a ceasefire will begin on May

15th and continue until mid-June. However the statement also says the

Maoists will resume fighting if government troops attack them during the

ceasefire period.

The surprise announcement from the Maoists on Thursday follows nearly a

week of intense fighting in the Maoist strongholds of western Nepal.

Government forces say they have killed hundreds of rebels in an

offensive but the Maoists struck back on Wednesday overrunning a

government base and reportedly killing more than a hundred troops.

Reports of casualties cannot be independently confirmed.

The fighting took place as Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba,

held talks with President Bush, getting pledges of increased aid to fight

the rebels. U-S officials have already pledged 20-million dollars in

non-lethal military assistance to Nepal. A U-S military assistance team

recently completed a visit to Kathmandu, conducting an in-depth review

of Nepalese military capabilities.

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The Maoists, who are fighting to topple the world's only Hindu kingdom, have declared cease-fires on two previous occasions. Last November they resumed fighting after holding three rounds of talks with government officials. The move prompted Nepal's King Gyanendra to authorize a state of emergency which allowed Nepal's army to join the fight against the Maoists.

Since then fighting has intensified with more than two-thousand deaths

reported, half the number killed in the six year insurgency. Maoist

leaders offered to resume peace talks last week, but the offer was

rejected by Prime Minister Deuba, who says the Maoists must surrender

their arms before any talks can begin. (Signed)

NEB/JLT/RH