PATNA, April 8: Maoist rebels killed at least eight villagers in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand on Tuesday, police said.

The dead were members of a government-backed tribal group formed to fight the rebels.

“The villagers were crossing the road through a forest when the Maoists sprayed bullets on them,” said Deepak Kumar Sinha, a police officer.

The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless. They regularly kill policemen and attack government establishments in a large swathe of eastern and central India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the four-decade-old Maoist rebellion as the single biggest threat to India’s internal security. It has killed thousands of people.—Reuters