RAIPUR: Indian security forces have shot dead five Maoist rebels, including two senior commanders, in the first major onslaught since the guerrillas announced a unilateral halt in fighting last week, officials said Wednesday.
New Delhi has launched an all-out offensive to crush the decades-long conflict, vowing to wipe out the Maoist rebellion by March 2026.
The latest gunbattles were reported from the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, part of the so-called “Red Corridor.”
“Three members of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) were killed today in a gunbattle with security forces,” police inspector general Michaelraj S. told AFP.
JJMP is a splinter group of the Naxalite movement, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago.
Last week, the Maoists said they were suspending their armed struggle and offered talks with the government.
Authorities said they were verifying the authenticity of the claims.
On Monday, security forces killed two top Maoist leaders — Katta Ramachandra Reddy and Kadri Satyanarayan Reddy — in Abujhmad region of central India.
The duo were believed to have been active for the last three decades and were blamed for numerous deadly attacks on security forces.
“Our security forces are systematically dismantling the top leadership of the Naxals, breaking the backbone of red terror,” home minister Amit Shah said in a social media post.
The Naxals have offered to engage in talks before, including in February when they called for a ceasefire — an offer rejected by authorities.
Nearly 450 Maoist rebels have been killed since last year.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967.
The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but it has been dramatically weakened in recent years.
Indian security forces kill five Maoist rebels
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Indian security forces kill five Maoist rebels
- Indian security forces have shot dead five Maoist rebels, including two senior commanders, in the first major onslaught since the guerrillas announced a unilateral halt in fighting last week
Nowhere to pray as logs choke flood-hit Indonesian mosque
- Before the disaster, the mosque bustled with worshippers — locals and students alike — attending daily and Friday prayers
- Indonesia consistently ranks among the countries with the highest annual deforestation rates
ACEH TAMIANG, Indonesia: Almost two weeks on from devastating floods, Muslim worshippers in Indonesia’s Sumatra who gathered at their local mosque on Friday for prayers were blocked from entering by a huge pile of thousands of uprooted trees.
The deadly torrential rains had inundated vast tracts of rainforest nearby, leaving residents of the Darul Mukhlisin mosque and Islamic boarding school to search elsewhere for places of worship that had been less damaged.
“We have no idea where all this wood came from,” said Angga, 37, from the nearby village of Tanjung Karang.
Before the disaster, the mosque bustled with worshippers — locals and students alike — attending daily and Friday prayers.
“Now it’s impossible to use. The mosque used to stand near a river,” said Angga. “But the river is gone — it’s turned into dead land.”
Village residents told AFP the structure likely absorbed much of the impact of trees and logs carried by the torrents, preventing even greater destruction downstream.
When AFP visited the site, the mosque was still encircled by a massive heap of timber — a mix of uprooted trees and felled logs, likely from nearby forests.
By Friday, the death toll from one of northern Sumatra’s worst recent disasters — including in Aceh, where a tsunami wreaked havoc in 2004 — had reached 995 people, with 226 still missing and almost 890,000 displaced, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
- Uncontrolled logging -
Authorities have blamed the scale of devastation partly on uncontrolled logging.
Environmentalists say widespread forest loss has worsened floods and landslides, stripping the land of tree cover that normally stabilizes soil and absorbs rainfall.
Indonesia consistently ranks among the countries with the highest annual deforestation rates.
President Prabowo Subianto, visiting Aceh Tamiang district on Friday, assured victims the government was working to restore normalcy.
“We know conditions are difficult, but we will overcome them together,” he said, urging residents to “stay alert and be careful.”
“I apologize for any shortcomings (but) we are working hard,” he said.
Addressing environmental concerns, Prabowo called for better forest protection.
“Trees must not be cut down indiscriminately,” he said.
“I ask local governments to stay vigilant, to monitor and safeguard our nature as best as possible.”
But frustrations were growing, with flood victims complaining about the pace of relief efforts.
Costs to rebuild after the disaster could run up to 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.1 billion) and the Indonesian government has so far shrugged off suggestions that it call for international assistance.
Back in nearby Babo Village, Khairi Ramadhan, 37, said he planned to seek out another mosque for prayers.
“I’ll find one that wasn’t hit by the flood,” he said. “Maybe some have already been cleaned. I don’t want to dwell on sorrow anymore.”
