Maoists announce parallel government in Nepal

In an open rebellion against the royal Nepalese government Maoist guerrillas have announced a parallel administration in areas under their control. The underground rebels engaged in an armed insurgency said that they had established local councils and courts to run the administration in west Nepal, a website said Saturday. The Maoist guerrillas' government is based in Rukum district in the western part of the Himalayan kingdom. Purna Bahadur Gharti, a hitherto unknown guerrilla leader, has been appointed as the head of the "peoples' government". The Maoists have begun collecting taxes and the kangaroo courts are hearing cases. The rebels have established the parallel administration after a five-year-long struggle against the Kathmandu-based monarchy. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the armed insurgency so far. Responding to the rebels' announcement, the federal defence minister Mahesh Acharya said the government would deploy army troops in villages frequented by the Maoists. The Nepalese government deployed the army against the guerrillas for the first time in September. The army was called out of barracks following the massacre of 14 policemen during a rebel attack on a jail and police headquarters of Dolpa district. Analysts say that the announcement of a parallel administration was an open challenge to the government in Kathmandu, UPI reports.