23 Indian troops killed in mine blast

NEW DELHI—Twenty-three paramilitary soldiers were killed in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh, federal and state officials said Sunday.
The explosion occurred Sunday after a vehicle carrying the soldiers passed over a landmine in the state’s Bijapur district, some 1,100 kilometres (700 miles) southeast of the federal capital New Delhi.
Two of the soldiers who survived the blast were battling for their lives in a hospital, officials said. The impact of the blast broke the soldiers’ vehicle into pieces.
“We suspect that the Maoists are behind the incident. It is a blow to the state because the Maoist situation was improving in Chhattisgarh when the incident has happened,” India’s federal junior home minister Shriprakash Jaiswal said. He said the attack was aimed at derailing peace efforts.
Maoists have strongholds in at least five of India’s 29 states including eastern Bihar, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. They say they are battling for greater social and economic rights for indigenous tribes and landless farmers.
The three-decade-old conflict has claimed thousands of lives.
“They used a powerful explosive and that is why the toll is so high,” said Arvind Vichar Netam, Chhattisgarh’s home minister.
New Delhi says left-wing rebels operating in India have ties with Maoist guerrillas in neighbouring Nepal who are fighting to overthrow the monarchy and install a communist republic.
The attack came a day after Nepal’s Maoist rebels announced a unilateral three-month ceasefire starting immediately in an effort to aid talks with political parties in the Himalayan nation.
“Our government has been trying to resolve the Maoist problem and we are confident you will see a solution emerging over the long-term,” Jaiswal said.
He said the federal government had advised state governments to boost economic and social development in the insurgency-hit areas for resolving the Maoist problem.
“We have told the state governments that unless you try to address the problem of development in these areas, you will not be able to solve the problem. We are doing the maximum possible to bring peace to these regions,” Jaiswal added.—Agencies