Nepalese general killed in ambush

The army has been on high alert since a rebel ceasefire collapsed

A senior Nepalese army officer has died in a suspected Maoist rebel ambush in the southern district of Makwanpur.

Brigadier-General Sagar Bahadur Pandey is the highest ranking officer to be killed in the eight-year insurgency.

Reports indicate that General Pandey and three other soldiers died and six more were injured when their vehicle struck a landmine.

More than 1,000 people have died in renewed violence since peace talks broke down in August.

The Maoists have been running a violent campaign for the last eight years, aimed at replacing Nepal's monarchy with a communist republic.

Maoist initiative

In another incident, three policemen were killed in an attack by Maoists in the western Nepali district of Banke.

The police were reportedly shot at point blank range by four men on motorcycles in a busy market area.

No civilians were injured in the shooting.

The incidents come days after the Maoists invited political parties in the Himalayan kingdom to join them to form an anti-monarchy alliance.

The Chairman of the underground Maoist Communist Party (MCP), Prachanda, said the present political system in Nepal needed to be overthrown.

Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked the elected government and suspended national elections last year.

Most political parties are opposed to the king's executive powers.

Peace talks between the government and the rebels have failed twice over the past two years due to differences over a key rebel demand for a new constitution.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in Nepal since the rebels began an insurrection in 1996.