30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

NEW DELHI, Sept 29: India admitted on Wednesday that it was actively collaborating with the United States to fight Maoist rebels in Nepal, an admission that could be controversial for ties with China and also for New Delhi's communist-backed government, Indian officials and diplomats said.

They said while there was little domestic or diplomatic opposition to India's increased public support for Kathmandu's battle against the rebels, including military aid, the admission of working in tandem with Washington would be construed differently.

The issue came to a head when the respected newspaper, The Hindu, reported on Wednesday that a US-chartered plane, loaded with arms for the Nepal government's campaign against the rebels, had arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman effectively confirmed the report but said it was "highly exaggerated". Moreover, he significantly said, it was a routine procedure.

"Government of India is aware of the supply of certain explosives and ammunitions by the US Government to Nepal for use in its training programme for Nepalese police in counter- insurgency operations," the spokesman said.

"After completing necessary internal procedures, the clearance for this flight, subject to standard stipulation, was issued yesterday. The flight arrived at Ahmedabad Airport today morning and has left for Kathmandu after mandatory checks. The report is highly exaggerated and over-dramatizes what is a routine procedure," the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, The Hindu said that the aircraft operated by Vega Airlines, a private Bulgarian cargo company, carrying explosives and ammunition to "combat" the Maoists in Nepal, "has been sitting" at an Indian airport since Saturday, awaiting permission to fly out to Kathmandu.

The newspaper said it was reliably told that "the United States Government engaged Vega Airlines", which mostly has Russian-made AN-12 aircraft in its fleet, to ferry the explosives and ammunition to Kathmandu for an "anti-terrorist" training facility in Nepal.

Diplomatic sources said that China, which had expressed quiet support for Kathmandu's campaign against the Maoists, was nevertheless wary of an American involvement in the campaign.

In New Delhi, the communist-led Left Front, which shores up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, is stridently critical of virtually everything that has to do with Washington.

Agencies add: Nepal's army said on Wednesday it killed 16 Maoist rebels during a two-day strike that shut down much of the country, but residents said one of the dead was a deaf man who could not hear an army order to halt.

Army statements said troops shot dead 12 rebels on Tuesday and four more Wednesday during the strike by the Maoists, who are waging struggle to overthrow the monarchy. Police on Tuesday had reported nine deaths, including the gunning down of an alleged Maoist activist threatening shopkeepers to observe the strike in the south-eastern Ilam district.