http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=178734490&p=y78735y96 At least 12 killed in Nepal gun battles 08/04/2006 - 10:48:57 Communist rebels attacked two towns in south-western Nepal, prompting a fierce overnight battle in which at least nine rebels and three members of the security forces were killed, officials said today in Katmandu. A defence ministry statement said the troops repelled the attacks, killing at least nine guerrillas. It said two soldiers and a policeman were killed in the clashes at Butwal, a town 175 miles southwest of Katmandu, and at nearby Taulihawa town. In Katmandu, the capital, opposition parties called off a massive anti-monarchy rally planned for today after the royal government imposed a curfew and threatened to shoot on sight any violators. The curfew began at 10am local time and was to continue until 9pm in Katmandu and two suburbs for security reasons, the government announced on state-run Radio Nepal. Violators would be shot, it said. The rally “will not take place today. That will be postponed until tomorrow”, said Khadga Prasad Oli, deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal and a key protest organiser. “We strongly oppose this. The imposition of a curfew is unnecessary, illegal and illogical. There is no ground for this.” The rally was intended to be the high point of a four-day general strike by Nepal’s seven main political parties aimed at pressuring King Gyanendra to restore democracy. In the overnight attacks, hundreds of communist rebels attacked the two towns. They first attacked two army camps and two police posts late on Friday at Butwal and then security bases and government buildings at Taulihawa around midnight. Defence ministry spokesman Indresh Dahal said the soldiers were pursuing the attackers and troops had taken control of the area. He said the rebel casualties could be much higher because there was evidence of bodies being dragged away from the battle grounds. Gangadutta Awasti, the chief government administrator in the area, said reinforcements were sent in. Awasti said the rebels freed 104 inmates from the local jail at Taulihawa after the attack. In the first attack, rebels shooting flares in the air attacked the security bases near the main east-west highway. The area has experienced a number of attacks since the rebels ended a unilateral cease-fire earlier this year. The government has struggled to control the growing insurgency, which has killed some 13,000 people since 1996 and is aimed at replacing the monarchy with a communist state. The rebels’ influence has increased dramatically in recent years, prompting the king to seize absolute power last year.