Nepal: Scores die in Maoist battle
From Journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay for CNN
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- A fierce battle between government forces and Maoist rebels in eastern Nepal has left at least 59 people dead.
Government sources said on Wednesday that 50 Maoists and nine security personnel had died.
According to the daily Gorkhapatra, the fighting took place Monday in the village of Taple in the mountainous Udayapur district.
Radio Nepal reported 48 rebel bodies were found at the site of the battle.
More than 11,000 Nepalis have died since the Maoists launched a "people's war" in 1996 in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom.
The rebels, who are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, want to replace Nepal's monarchy with a Communist state.
