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- Indian security forces have shot dead five Maoist rebels, including two senior commanders, in the first major onslaught since the guerrillas announced a unilateral halt in fighting last week
RAIPUR: Indian security forces have shot dead five Maoist rebels, including two senior commanders, in the first major onslaught since the guerrillas announced a unilateral halt in fighting last week, officials said Wednesday.
New Delhi has launched an all-out offensive to crush the decades-long conflict, vowing to wipe out the Maoist rebellion by March 2026.
The latest gunbattles were reported from the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, part of the so-called “Red Corridor.”
“Three members of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) were killed today in a gunbattle with security forces,” police inspector general Michaelraj S. told AFP.
JJMP is a splinter group of the Naxalite movement, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago.
Last week, the Maoists said they were suspending their armed struggle and offered talks with the government.
Authorities said they were verifying the authenticity of the claims.
On Monday, security forces killed two top Maoist leaders — Katta Ramachandra Reddy and Kadri Satyanarayan Reddy — in Abujhmad region of central India.
The duo were believed to have been active for the last three decades and were blamed for numerous deadly attacks on security forces.
“Our security forces are systematically dismantling the top leadership of the Naxals, breaking the backbone of red terror,” home minister Amit Shah said in a social media post.
The Naxals have offered to engage in talks before, including in February when they called for a ceasefire — an offer rejected by authorities.
Nearly 450 Maoist rebels have been killed since last year.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967.
The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but it has been dramatically weakened in recent years.