Four foreign aid organisations have suspended operations in a remote district of western Nepal after local staff members were beaten by rebels. The World Food Programme, Britain's Department for International Development, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Dutch aid agency SNV said in a statement on Sunday the workers were attacked at Sukatiya village, a Maoist stronghold 600 km (375 miles) west of Kathmandu, according to Reuters. Rebels forced a woman at the project to dig her own grave, it said, without providing further details about the incident. "We regret this deeply, but cannot put our staff at further risk," the donors said in a statement. "It is clear that this action seriously contravenes the BOGs (basic operating guidelines) which are the basis for these donors' engagements in Nepal." The suspension will hit 6,000 villagers who work on the project in Nepal, one of the world's 10 poorest countries, which gets $400 million, or about 30 percent of its annual budget, in international aid. There was no immediate response from the government and the rebels, who normally operate in remote areas, could not be reached for comment. In the past, rebels have regularly demanded money from aid agencies, forcing them to scale back projects as well as staff in rural areas. The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow the Hindu monarchy and set up a single party communist republic. Nearly 12,000 have died in the conflict so far.
