More than 400 Maoists fail UN verification in eastern Nepal

Jun 30, 2007, 14:15 GMT

Kathmandu - More than 400 Maoist fighters failed the second phase of verification conducted by the United Nations in eastern Nepal, official reports said Saturday.

The official Nepalese news agency Rashtriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) reported that the 400 plus fighters will have to leave the main cantonment and three satellite camps at Chulachili of Ilam district, about 400 kilometres east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Those disqualified were mainly minors under the age of 18 or recruited by the Maoists after the cut off date of May 2006.

'The Maoist side tried to furnish evidence of age and recruitment date after many were rejected from the verification in the starting days but the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) did not recognize the fake documents,' RSS reported.

However, the news agency quoted unnamed sources as saying that still more Maoists fighters, who did not meet the strict UN criteria, were registered due to Maoist pressure. The agency could not provide details.

UNMIN has said they could not carry out the verification as expected because of Maoist obstruction, RSS reported.

Under the second phase of verification some 3,221 Maoist fighters were registered at Chulachuli camp.

The verification process will now move to Sindhuli district in south-central Nepal.

During the first phase of verification, the UN registered just over 30,000 Maoist combatants, a figure many believe was inflated ny recruitment following a ceasefire between the Nepalese government and the Maoists.

US-based Human Rights Watch has previously said as many as 9,000 of the registered Maoist fighters are minors.

Under a peace agreement reached with the government, the Maoist former rebels agreed to keep their fighters in seven cantonments and 21 satellite camps spread across the Himalayan nation.

Nearly 15,000 people have died in Nepal's conflict, which formally ended with the signing of an agreement in November 2006.