U.S. Issues Nepal Warning

U.S. officials said Monday that Maoist rebels in Nepal have threatened violence against their diplomatic mission and warned Americans they face a heightened risk in the Himalayan kingdom.

Embassy officials in the capital, however, said there had not been any direct or specific threat.

The Maoist guerrillas made the threats in a Nov. 15 press release faxed to news organizations, according to the U.S. State Department warning issued Monday.

"While the Maoist press release states that Maoist actions are not targeted at foreign tourists, its repeated threatening references to the 'American Mission' implies a heightened risk for both official and private Americans in Nepal," the Washington statement said.

In Katmandu, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Constanc Colding Jones said: "The statement reiterates that Americans in Nepal should exercise extreme caution."

In areas outside the Katmandu Valley, armed conflicts between the Maoists and government security forces occur sporadically and unpredictably.

The warning said U.S. citizens should consider canceling trips to Nepal until the implications of the press statement could be "fully ascertained." It did not advise Americans to leave Nepal, but said they "should heighten their security precautions and awareness."

The Maoist press release claimed responsibility for murdering two Nepali security guards at the U.S. Embassy in separate incidents Dec. 15, 2001, and Nov. 9, 2002, the U.S. State Department warning said.

"The Maoist warning says that the execution had nothing to do with the embassy but they said they reserve the right to basically repeat the performance if any employee was found involved in spying," Colding Jones said.

The press release was signed by a local rebel leader identified only as Vijay.

"Included in the press release are threats of further violence against any party or 'diplomatic communities...working against the Maoists,' including the 'American Diplomatic Mission,'" the warning said.

The rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to abolish Nepal's monarchy.

The six-year insurgency has killed more than 7,000 people, most of them after Nepal's king imposed a state of emergency in November 2001 and ordered the army to join the police in fighting the guerrillas.

The U.S. government has given political support to the Nepal government in its battle against the rebels, and is considering aid to Nepal.

By Binaj Gurubacharya