People's War Group declares truce

The outlawed left-wing People's War Group in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has announced a three-month ceasefire.

The announcement comes a week after the state government also called a truce, to pave the way for peace talks with the Maoist rebels.

A PWG spokesman said all of its members had been told to respect its ceasefire.

The PWG had demanded that the government declare a ceasefire as a condition for talks aimed at ending its decades-long insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service