Sixteen Maoist rebels and a soldier were killed on Saturday, in the biggest battle in Nepal since a guerrilla ceasefire ended this month, the army said, according to Reuters. The deaths took place in a firefight in Syangja, a Maoist stronghold 225 km (140 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, two days after soldiers shot dead 10 rebels in the same area, . "Details of the clash are awaited. A search is continuing," an army officer said. The rebels, who have been fighting to topple the Hindu monarchy and set up a communist state in the Himalayan nation, ended a four-month truce early this month, saying the government had not matched it.
