100 teachers, students abducted in eastern Nepal

The anti-government guerrillas have abducted about 100 civilians including teachers and students in a eastern district of Nepal, local government office confirmed here Monday.

"At least 37 teachers and 57 students, have been abducted in a week from remote villages of Okhaldhunga district, some 200 km east of Kathmandu," District Administrative Office said in a press statement.

The guerrillas abducted the students and teachers from three local government schools located in different villages of the district and took them towards an undisclosed location, the statement noted.

"The whereabouts of the abducted teachers and students are yet to be known," the statement said.

"About 30 guerrillas carrying weapons came to the schools and forced the children to go with them," the statement quoted local people as saying.

The guerrillas have been continuing abduction since they declared a unilateral cease fire on Sept. 3.

The guerrillas usually force the civilians, teachers and students to take part in their "ideological" programs and free them after a few days unharmed, Xinhua reports.