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India Dozens Killed In India After Maoist Ambush

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Check this link for live feed from the Times of India news blog
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Maoists-attack-in-Chhattisgarh/liveblog/20270752.cms

Dozens killed in India after Maoist ambush

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/05/2013525163458894343.html

Heavily-armed Maoist rebels have killed at least 27 people, including Congress Party leaders, after ambushing a convoy in a remote tribal belt of central India, officials have said.

The head of the party in the state of Chhattisgarh, Nand Kumar Patel, and his son, who were kidnapped by the rebels after the attack on Saturday, have also been found dead.

"We can also confirm that 32 people are wounded, most of them seriously," state police Director General Ramniwas told AFP news agency.

A senior police officer said suspected Maoists triggered a land mine blast and fired at the vehicles in the Sukma district, about 345km south of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.

Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi termed it a "dastardly attack" on India's democratic system.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government would take firm action against the perpetrators.

The prime minister, who visited wounded people in a Raipur hospital along with Sonia Gandhi, said that "the country would never bow down before Naxalism".

Police identified one of those killed as Mahendra Karma, a Congress leader in Chhattisgarh state who founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat the Maoist rebels.

Salwa Judum had to be reined in after it was accused of atrocities against tribals - indigenous people at the bottom of India's rigid social ladder.

Corporate exploitation

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhib said his party would not be cowed down by such attacks.

"It is not an attack on Congress. It is an attack on democracy. But, we will not fear from such an attack and continue to move forward with enthusiasm," Gandhi was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper on its website.

The wounded Congress Party members, among them Vidya Charan Shukla, a former federal minister, were taken to a local hospital, police said.

Shukla, who is believed to have suffered bullet injuries, was later airlifted to a suburb of Delhi for further treatment.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the attackers blocked the road by felling trees and triggered a land mine blast that blew up one of the cars in the convoy. The attackers fired at the Congress Party leaders and their supporters and then fled.

The Congress Party, which runs the federal government, is the main opposition party in the state.

The rebels, known as Naxalites, have been fighting the federal and provincial governments for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor.

The fighters are inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption.

The Indian prime minister has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry.
 
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spnadmin

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This is a breaking story; thus facts and details will change..

28 killed in suspected rebel attack in India


from CBC news Canada http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/05/25/india-rebel-attack.html

About 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in the country's east, killing at least 28 people and wounding 24 others, police said.

Senior police officer M. Gupta said the attack occurred Saturday in the Sukma area, about 345 kilometres south of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.

The convoy was attacked in a forested area as the Congress members were returning to the state capital after attending a party rally, said Ram Niwas, a state police official.

Two state party leaders and five police officers were among those killed, said R.K. Vij, another police officer. Other victims were party supporters.

"We are devastated," said Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, who denounced what she called a "dastardly attack" on the country's democratic values.

Anti-rebel militia leader killed

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government would take firm action against the perpetrators.
Naxalite rebels have been fighting the central government for more than four decades.Naxalite rebels have been fighting the central government for more than four decades. (Mustafa Quraishi/Associated Press)

Police identified one of those killed as Mahendra Karma, a Congress leader in Chhattisgarh state who founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat the Maoist rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused of atrocities against tribals - indigenous people at the bottom of India's rigid social ladder.

The wounded Congress party members, among them 83-year-old Vidya Charan Shukla, a former federal minister, were taken to a hospital, police said.

Police on Sunday found 11 more bodies near the scene of the ambush, bringing the death toll to 28. They included a local Congress leader and his son who were earlier believed to have been abducted by the attackers, police officer Alok Nath said.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the attackers blocked the road by felling trees, forcing the convoy to halt. Vij said the suspected rebels triggered a land mine that blew up one of the cars. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their supporters before fleeing.

Rebels India's biggest internal security threat

The Congress party is the main opposition party in the state. It has stepped up political activities ahead of state elections scheduled to be held by December.

The rebels, known as Naxalites, have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption.

Prime Minister Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry.

In 2010, Maoist rebels killed 27 paramilitary troops in an ambush in a dense forest in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh state.
 
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