Kathmandu, Sept. 22: Maoist rebels abducted 2,300 civilians ? most of them teachers and students ? from remote villages in Achham district, western Nepal, during the last seven days.

According to reports reaching here from Mangalsen, headquarters of Achham district, the Maoists started the abductions last Saturday to indoctrine the teachers and students with their rebel ideology. This is the largest Maoist operation since they declared a ceasefire on September 3.

The report, quoting the locals, said the Maoists abducted students and teachers from 30 schools located in remote village development councils of Achham district, including Yalsa, Bayalpata, Barala, Binayak, Dhaku, Durmakada and Hirma. They were taken to an undisclosed location.

According to the families of the kidnapped teachers and students, the rebels also abducted one person from every family in the 40 councils of Achham district.

The locals were threatened with dire consequences if they did not comply with the rebel orders.

While the district administration’s office confirmed the mass abductions, the victims’ families appealed to human rights activists and journalists in Mangalsen to ensure the safety of their family members.

The abductions come at a time when local NGOs have launched a “School Children Zone of Peace” campaign in Achham district with the Unicef’s collaboration.

Municipal polls

Nepal’s Election Commission said today it had begun preparing for municipal elections to be held in the revolt-racked nation by April next year, adds Reuters.

Earlier this year, King Gyanendra, who sacked the government and seized absolute power in February, had announced plans to hold elections in 58 municipalities by April 2006.

The impoverished Himalayan kingdom has been in turmoil since the king’s power grab.

He said he had acted to quell a Maoist revolt in which more than 12,500 people have died since 1996.

“We have already prepared the voters’ lists in municipalities and the announcement of the dates for the elections is expected soon,” Tej Muni Bajracharya, a commission spokesman, said. “The municipal elections will be held within April.”

He said voting would be held in phases to allow security personnel to move across the mountainous nation. Bajracharya said it was not clear when parliamentary elections would be held.