Nepal rebels 'offer truce'

Similar offers in the past have proved genuine

Maoist rebels in Nepal have announced a unilateral ceasefire from next week.

Some believe the rebels are demoralised

In an unsigned statement e-mailed to newspapers in the capital, Kathmandu, the rebels said the cease-fire would begin on Wednesday and last for a month.

The authenticity of the offer, which purports to come from Maoist communist party chairman Prachanda has yet to be verified.

But correspondents say similar statements to news organisations in the past have turned out to be genuine.

There has been no immediate government response.

The announcement comes after a week of fighting in which the army says the rebels have suffered heavy losses.

Unconfirmed reports say as many as 1,000 people may have been killed.

Peace offer

The rebel statement said the move was in response to what it described as the advice of friends.

The government has received broad international support

The announcement comes a week after the rebels renewed their offer to resume peace talks with the government.

The rebels want to establish a communist state in place of Nepal's multi-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

The recent offer to resume talks and now the unilateral ceasefire have been seen by some observers as a sign of desperation among the rebels and a decline in their morale.

But others disagree, saying the moves are aimed at buying time to re-organise.

Political parties and human rights organisations have been putting pressure on the Maoists to lay down their arms and resume talks, which they unilaterally abandoned last November.

Heavy fighting

The surprise announcement follows the rebels' deadliest attack yet on a security post in the western district of Rolpa.

Both sides are accused of human rights abuses

The attack was launched in retaliation for the military's biggest-ever offensive in the same district a week ago, in which the rebels took heavy casualties.

In the statement, Mr Prachanda warned of what he said would be a decisive battle if the government continued its campaign of repression during the ceasefire.

Nearly 4,000 people have died since the rebels launched their armed struggle in early 1996.

The unilateral ceasefire announcement by the Maoists has coincided with a similar announcement from their counterparts, the People's War Group (PWG), in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The two rebel groups are believed to have close ties.

Betrayal

Nepal's authorities had earlier ruled out peace talks with the rebels unless they surrendered.

They accused the rebels of betrayal - a reference to the breakdown of peace talks and the resumption of heavy attacks on government targets last November.

That brought the swift imposition of a state of emergency, followed by a massive military offensive to crush the rebels.

Fierce fighting has taken place since then, with both sides taking heavy casualties.

The authorities believe that despite some setbacks, the security forces have been making progress and that the rebels are on the run.

The Nepalese Government has also received broad national and international support in what it says is the fight against terrorism.