August 11, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 12, 1424

WASHINGTON, Aug 10: A Maoist group in southern India has attacked American business interests in Andhra Pradesh to protest the US invasion of Iraq, says a report released in Washington this week by the Overseas Security Advisory Council.

The council, established in 1985 by the US Department of State, provides security related information to the private sector operating abroad.

The council identifies the insurgents as the People’s War Group of Maoists and Naxalites.

The report says that PWG militants targeted warehouses used by US businesses in Markapuram and Anantapur. Militants claimed the attacks were a protest against the US and British action in Iraq.

The official security and safety report warns that the group has become increasingly active parts of Andhra Pradesh.

The report says that the local police have no indication of connections between the PWG and any international terrorist groups, says the report.

Chandranna, a PWG militant, has rejected charges that the PWG has ties with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence, says the report. But Chandranna has boasted links to “ten other Maoist parties of South Asian countries,” including some in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He claims the group calls itself the “Confederation of Maoist Parties of South Asia” or COMPOSA. PWG has some association with Nepalese militants and extremist groups in northeast India, the report points out.

A local Maoist, Konadapally Sitaramaiah, founded the PWG in Andhra Pradesh in 1980. His objective is to create an independent “Maoist” state stretching from rural Andhra Pradesh through Orissa and Bihar. Sitaramaiah cited the need for land reform as cause to rebel. Local press often refers to PWG cadres as “Naxalites” after the West Bengal village thought to have originally spawned the organization.

The PWG can muster 800-1,000 armed members and enjoys the support of 3,000-4,000 sympathizers. A local Maoist leader Moppala Lakashman Rao leads the PWG in Andhra Pradesh. Other leaders include Malkapuram Bhaskar, Sheshu Jagan, Tallari Laxman and Srinivas Reddy.

The PWG arms itself with stolen weapons, mainly snatching guns from local police stations. PWG leader Sheshu Jagan recently told reporters: “There is no shortage of weapons. Some of these we looted from police stations and some we manufactured locally.”