Raipur, India:
Indian security forces killed at least 31 Maoist rebels on Sunday in one of the deadliest clashes since the government increased efforts to crush the long -standing insurrection.
Two Indian commandos were also killed in the battle and two other members of the security force were injured, police said.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the insurgency of several decades led by the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized people in the central regions rich in India resources.
“Until now, 31 maoist corpses have been found,” the higher police police officer told AFP.
“Two security personnel have died and two other security staff are injured,” he added.
Reinforcements have been sent to the region, he said, warning that the toll could increase as the police were carrying out research operations.
“Additional forces have been precipitated on the meeting site,” he said.
Police said they had seized assault rifles and grenade launchers from the bodies of dead rebels.
The shooting broke out in the wooded areas of the Bijapur district in the state of Chhattisgarh, considered the heart of the insurrection.
The rebels, also known as Naxalites after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, was inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
“This is a great success in the direction of the realization of an India without naxal,” said Amit Shah, Minister of the Interior of India, who declared last year that the government s ‘Waited to crush the rebellion by 2026.
Shah repeated his wish to “completely eradicate naxism”.
A repression of the security forces killed around 287 rebels last year, an overwhelming majority in Chhattisgarh, according to government data.
More than 80 Maoists have been killed so far this year, according to a count on Sunday by the press agency Press Trust of India. AFP
