Nepal army 'kills 59 rebels'

Nepal says its armed forces have killed at least 59 Maoist rebels in several incidents since Thursday.

A Nepali defence spokesman said fresh blood stains at the scene of one of the clashes in the west of the country indicated that at least 50 rebels were killed there.

Correspondents say that Maoist casualties cannot be independently verified and the guerrilla group normally does not comment on battles.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in Nepal since 1996, when the rebels began their fight to overthrow the country's monarchy and establish a communist government.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service