KATMANDU, Nepal, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Eight police officers died Wednesday when their vehicle hit a landmine laid by Maoist rebels on a highway in the west of Nepal, the BBC reported.
The police were trying to force open the Prithvi highway linking the capital, Katmandu, to the rest of the country. Maoists Tuesday had set up a roadblock and had called for a two-day boycott of the highway, in protest of alleged killings and disappearances of colleagues.
Hundreds of rebels died in subsequent fighting Wednesday when Nepalese security forces tried to force open the highway, which was blocked between the central-western districts of Banke and Dang. The clashes took place about 30 miles from Nepalganj, a transport hub in the west of the country, state-run Radio Nepal reported
There has been no comment from the rebels on the latest incident.
On the second day of the roadblock Wednesday, the Prithvi highway was largely deserted, with drivers fearing Maoist retaliation.
The Maoists want to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist republic. About 9,500 people have died since the Maoist insurrection began in 1996.
