18 November 2004	Thursday	05 Shawwal 1425

KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Maoist rebels fighting to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy killed at least eight policemen on Wednesday in an ambush on a patrol in the west of the Himalayan nation, police said.

A police spokesman said Maoist rebels fired on a patrol from dense forests at dusk as it was on its way to clear a road block of trees set up by the insurgents in Banke, 500 kilometres west of Kathmandu.

A firefight ensued in which the policemen were killed. "The Maoists might have also suffered extensive losses. But we have no details," the spokesman said. Maoist guerrillas, who want a communist state in the impoverished Hindu kingdom, regularly set up road blocks in rural areas to make their presence felt.

On Tuesday, rebels killed at least 11 policemen or soldiers in separate clashes in western Nepal as Maoist chief Prachanda urged foreign donors to stop international support to aid-dependent Nepal. -Reuters