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India-Pakistan
Maoists kill 75 police in central India attack
2010-04-07
Maoist rebels killed at least 75 police by setting off explosives and firing from hilltops around dense forest in central India on Tuesday, in one of the worst attacks by the insurgents in years.

The ambush by more than 700 Maoist fighters in Chhattisgarh state highlights the strong rebel presence in large swathes of India, especially remote rural areas left out of the booming economy.

Recent attacks on police have raised questions over how well prepared security forces are to tackle the Maoists, especially during a counter-offensive by security forces this year.

"Something has gone very wrong," Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

"They seem to have walked into a camp or a trap."

Police said the Maoist rebels, who control several areas rich in mineral resources, had retreated into the forest in the Dantewada district of the Bastar region, home to government-owned iron ore miner NMDC Ltd, the largest in India.

Tuesday's attack left mining operations unaffected, but mining officials were rattled.

"There is an absolute panic," S.P. Himanshu Kumar, the deputy general manager of NDMC, frequently attacked by Maoists.

Reinforcements trying to collect the bodies came under fire by the Maoists who had surrounded the area. Two Indian Air Force helicopters were used in a rescue operation.

"This is a big disaster and it shows the paramilitary forces are obviously not trained to tackle the Maoists' rebellion and they don't seem to have enough intelligence,"
said retired Major General Ravi Arora, editor of Indian Military Review.

Maoists regularly attack rail lines and factories, hurting business potentially worth billions of dollars in mineral-rich and often remote regions. They extort more than $300 million from companies every year, the government says.

"The growing activities of Maoists in Bastar in Chhattisgarh are threatening iron ore mining," said Ashok Surana, head of a leading industrial body, Mini Steel Plant Association.

"The iron ore miners fear that the authorities might end up ceding control of Bastar's ore reserves in five years if the dominance of the area by the insurgents is not checked urgently."
Posted by:Fred

#6  Both the Maoists and the Marxists report to Beijing.

After some Japanese companies announced plans to scale up their investments in India, the CPI bigwigs visited Beijing. On their return, the unions began wildcat strikes against Japanese companies operating in India.
Posted by: john frum   2010-04-07 11:52  

#5  Maoists? Even the Chinese aren't Maoists anymore.

Wouldn't keep the Chicoms from using them to cause trouble for India.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2010-04-07 11:39  

#4   Maoists? Even the Chinese aren't Maoists anymore.

West Bengal (the State Government) is run by the Communist Part of India (Marxist).
The Maoists are the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Posted by: john frum   2010-04-07 08:33  

#3  Alal NEWS KERALA > the ruling BJP PARTY is vowing a "WAR TO THE END/FINISH" agz the NAXALS-MAOISTS.

* SAME > MAOIST LEADER: CHHATTISGARH ATTACK A [direct] CONSEQUENCE OF THE GOVT'S "OPERATION GREEN HUNT" OFFENSIVE | TIME HAS COME TO ENGAGE/CHALLENGE THE CENTRAL GOVT IN DIRECT BATTLE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2010-04-07 02:12  

#2  Maoists? Even the Chinese aren't Maoists anymore.
Posted by: SteveS   2010-04-07 01:08  

#1  TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > INDIA: NO AIRPOWER TO BE USED IN OFFENSIVE AGZ NAXALS.

Given the CRASH RECORD of the Indian AF, I truly don't know whether to cry for the Indian Grunts + Para-police, OR APPLAUD THE IAF FOR TRYING TO STOP [mostly] POOR + UNEDUCATED NAXAL-MAOIST MILITANTS FROM BECOM "ACES" BY CAUSING IAF PILOTS/PLANES TO CRASH ON THEIR OWN.

["MEN[Militanst] WHO STARE AT GOATS [IAF PLanes to crash]" here].

* KELLY'S HEORES > ODDBALL > "THE BRIDGE IS STILL THERE.....NO, IT TAINT... YA SEE WHAT DEM NEGATIVE WAVES DID, MORIARITY"!
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2010-04-07 00:54  

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