New Delhi, July 22: A top Maoist leader has apologised for killing central paramilitary jawans but, in the same breath, almost justified the attacks by claiming they had been carried out in retaliation to rights abuses.

“We regret that too much of your blood was shed on April 6 and June 29,” said a release, in Hindi, issued on Tuesday by Gudsa Usendi, spokesperson for the Dandakaranya special zonal committee of the CPI (Maoist).

The allusion was to the massacre of 75 CRPF jawans on April 6 in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada. In the June 29 attack, 26 jawans of the same force had died at Narayanpur in the state.

This is the first time the rebels have expressed such regret to the central forces. But they have also sparked concern among security officials by appealing to the jawans to quit the “unjustified war and not raise arms against us”.

The officials fear that by highlighting the claim of fighting for the impoverished, the rebels are attempting to create discontent and frustration among the jawans, many of whom come from poor families.

“Remove the false propaganda of your officers, politicians, ministers and the media. Free yourself from misconceptions and understand that whatever you are doing is not patriotism,” Usendi said.

The appeal is directed at the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, Mizoram police commandos, jawans and junior officers.

In the statement, Usendi has said it is known that the deeds of the jawans are at the behest of their senior officers and the government. “We know you are being forcibly pulled into this unjustified war.” The release mentions several alleged rights violations.

The Maoists have also repeated the claim that their activities are not terrorism. “The Maoist revolution is for all those people being made homeless by the imperialists,” Usendi said in the statement.

A second release, put out by the CPI (Maoist) central committee spokesperson Abhay, has announced a shaheed saptah (martyrs’ week) from July 28 to August 3 for the guerrillas killed in anti-Maoist operations.