Four die in Nepal clashes

In western Nepal, four people have been killed in separate clashes between police and Maoist rebels.

A police inspector died in the remote district of Rolpa.

A police spokesman said both sides had exchanged fire for several hours.

The killing came a day after three Maoist rebels were gunned down in the neighbouring district of Kalikot.

More than thirteen-hundred people, including civilians, have died since the Maoist insurgency started in 1996 -- with the aim of replacing Nepal's constitutional Monarchy by a Communist republic.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service