Reports from Nepal say security forces have killed at least ten Maoist rebels -- seven of them in remote western districts.

Police intensified their campaign against the rebels earlier this week, after increased violence by the Maoists.Last month, the Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, visited some of the areas affected by the violence -- the first Prime Minister to do so in more than two years.

The rebels have been fighting to establish a communist republic since February 1996.

More than a hundred and fifty people have been killed in the conflict so far.