Nepal Timeline Year 2003

January 1	Advisor-cum-member of the Joint Revolutionary People's Council––the parallel government of the Maoist insurgents––Lok Bahadur Thapa surrenders to the authorities in Kaski district. Six policemen are injured in an ambush laid by the insurgents near Lalgaon, Bara district.
January 2	Eight policemen are injured in an ambush laid by the insurgents in Dang district. Maoists set free 18 school children who they had earlier kidnapped in Kailali and Doti districts. Indian Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani says "Following political instability in Nepal… Maoists … have started trying to infiltrate into India to increase Naxal violence in Bihar, Jharkhand and other States close to that country".
January 3	Minister for Physical Planning and Works Narayan Singh Pun, says, " A human rights activist is trying to broker talks [with the Maoists]. A formal letter has been sent … on the government’s behalf". Maoist insurgents kill five security force (SF) personnel at Gawar, 350km west of Kathmandu.
January 5	Pro-Maoist insurgents-student body, ANNFSU-Revolutionary, treasurer Sunita Sharma surrenders to the authorities in Parbat.
January 6	Reports say the insurgents have abducted 150 children from a school and have taken them to an unknown destination in Bajura district. Insurgents set free 140 of the 250 school students they had kidnapped, including girls, from different schools in Dang district on January 4 and 5. 17 suspected Maoist insurgents detained for nearly a year in Nuwakot are set free.
January 7	Security forces repulse attacks by Maoist insurgents and kill 11 in Bardia, Rukum, Accham, Kanchanpur and Jajarkot.
January 8	18 suspected sympathisers of the Maoists, including a journalist, are set free in Siraha.
January 11	Insurgents abduct six activists of the Communist Party of Nepal––Unified-Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), including former Member of Parliament Dhanharka Rai from a public meeting in Ghoretar, Bhojur district.
January 12	Makwanpur district Maoist insurgents’ commander udra Bahadur Pakhrin alias Ramesh is shot dead in a search operation.
	Insurgents set free two of the six UML activists they had abducted in Bhojpur, a day earlier.
January 15	Troops kill four insurgents in Doti, Rukum and Banke districts. Five more are killed in Kanchanpur, while two others are killed in clashes in Khotang.
January 18	Reports say SFs have shot dead 14 insurgents in operations in several places, including in Bhojpur, Kanchanpur, Surkhet and Khotang.
January 19	Reports say insurgents have set free UML leader and former Parliament Member Dhana Harka Rai, and three more activists, abducted in Bhojpur district from a public meeting on January 11. Maoist insurgents––for the first time––abduct a policewoman, Sudha Rana, in Ultaakha, near Mahendranagar, Dhangadi district.
January 20	Abducted policewoman Sudha Rana is set free.
January 21	Nepal Maoist Victims Association (NMVA) says it would launch a three-phase campaign from January 25 to exert pressure on the government for relief.
January 22	SFs shoot dead six Maoist insurgents in Pyuthan district.
January 23	Two armed policemen are killed and 20 more injured in an ambush laid by the insurgents in Girighat, near Birendranagar, Surkhet district.
January 26	Armed Police Force chief Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and bodyguard are killed in an attack by Maoist insurgents in Kathmandu. The insurgents abduct 36 students of Milan Pokhari Lower Secondary School in Gulmi.
January 28	Six insurgents, including Suda area committee member, are shot dead in Kanchanpur.
January 29	Insurgent leader ‘comrade’ Prachanda announces cease-fire. He also says the government has agreed to pre-conditions for talks––removing the terrorist label, lifting Interpol Red Corner notices, interim government and halting all offensives. The government withdraws ‘head money’ on key Maoist leaders. The government, too, announces a truce and appoints Minister for Physical Planning Narayan Singh Pun as its coordinator for the talks. 16 Maoist insurgents, including 13 in Gulmi, two more at Rahuban in Palpa and yet another in Rukum, are killed in SF operations.
January 30	Political leaders welcome the cease-fire but express doubts on the sincerity of the Maoist insurgents, as they had jettisoned the truce and peace talks earlier in 2002. India advises that the proposed peace process should involve political parties and should be conducted in a violence-free environment. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu says, "We continue to regard multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy as the two pillars for stability in Nepal. India remains committed to the strengthening of its long-standing and close friendship and good neighbourly relations with Nepal". The European Union, Germany and the US welcome the announcement of cease-fire.
February 1	UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal asks the Maoists to clearly spell out the modalities of the round table conference and the Constituent Assembly they have demanded.
February 2	For the peace talks, the Maoists announce a five-member dialogue committee headed by Baburam Bhattarai and consisting of Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal, Matrika Yadav, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Deb Bahadur Gurung.
February 5	Government sends an official invitation to the Maoist insurgents for a dialogue.
February 14	The Defence Ministry says the Maoists have resumed abductions and extortion from individuals and institutions, and asks them to discontinue the same. Besides, it sends a draft code of conduct to the insurgents for their comments.
February 15	Reports say authorities have given a list of 34 Maoist insurgents to police in Uttaranchal, India, for checking their possible hideouts in Pithoragarh and other border areas.
February 17	All major political parties boycott the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand to discuss the Maoist insurgency.
February 18	Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dinnath Sharma meet Nepali Congress president and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and other political leaders. Two school students are killed and another injured on February 18, in Baglung, in a firing by Maoist insurgents at a school. Later reports say the insurgents were holding a firing demonstrating for children. The insurgents also tender an apology, subsequently.
February 19	Insurgent leaders Mahara and Sharma ask human rights activists Padma Ratna Tuladhar and Daman Nath Dhungana to act as facilitators in the talks with the government.
February 20	The assassins of Armed Police Inspector General Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife Nudup Shrestha and bodyguard Surya Bahadur Regmi are identified. They include Krishna Hari Sainju, arrested immediately after the incident, Kamala Bista of Kalikot, Gopal Krishna Nagarkoti of Kavre and Sita Karanjit of Kathmandu. Insurgent leaders Mahara and Sharma speak to UML standing committee member Bamdev Gautam and the reconstituted Nepal Communist Party (Marxist––Leninist) coordinator C.P. Mainali.
February 22	Insurgent leaders Mahara and Sharma meet the former Prime Minister Kirti Nidhi Bista.
February 24	Two Maoist insurgents are killed in an exchange of fire with SF personnel in Deuraphanta area, Bajhang district.
February 24	Two Maoist insurgents are killed in an exchange of fire with security force personnel in Deuraphanta area, Bajhang district.
February 26	Minister and government coordinator for the proposed peace talks with the insurgents, Narayan Singh Pun says that talks would be held in the second week of March.
February 28	Police in the Indian State of Bihar unearth a hideout of the Maoist insurgents and recover a huge cache of arms and ammunition in Patna.
March 4	A Maoist insurgent is arrested in Birgunj soon after he had extorted NR 100,000 from a businessman, say reports.
March 5	Cases are filed at the Pattan Appeals Court against insurgents chief Prachanda, parallel government chief Baburam Bhattarai and others for their role in killing 49 policemen at Bhiman in Sindhuli, in a raid six months ago.
March 7	Media reports say the Maoists are angered at cases having been filed against them at the Pattan Appeals Court. A senior unnamed leader says, the insurgents "have taken it as the government’s motive to escape from its commitment to seek solution of the problems through dialogue."
March 6	Army personnel arrest four insurgents while on a NR 1.5 million-extortion bid from a from a hotelier in Lalitpur. Many more are arrested in the capital Kathmandu, on the same day.
March 8	14 insurgents detained at the Mahendranagar jail beat up the guards and escape. They were arrested in Kanchanur earlier. Maoists damage a repeater station of Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NEA) in Accham district, and violate the ongoing truce.
March 10	Cabinet discusses the draft ‘code of conduct’ to be followed during the peace with the insurgents. On March 8, the Maoists have sent their comments on the draft. Minister Narayan Singh Pun invites pro-Maoist student leaders for talks to discuss their demands, after they indefinitely locked up campuses affiliated with Tribhuvan and Mahendra Sanskrit Universities Nepali Congress, Nepal Communist Party–Unified-Marxist-Leninist––boycott all-party meeting convened by Premier Chand to discuss ways to resolve the Maoist insurgency problem.
March 11	Premier Chand discusses with representatives of political parties not represented in the dissolved Parliament the draft ‘code of conduct’ to govern peace talks with the Maoists. Maoist insurgents attend for the first time a meeting of 11 eleven Left-wing parties and say the King assuming executive power is unconstitutional and regressive. The meeting resolves to launch a peaceful and united struggle against the move.
March 12	Government chief negotiator Narayan Singh Pun and insurgents parallel government leader head Baburam Bhattarai sign a 22-point ‘code of conduct’ to govern the peace process. Pro-Maoist students pressing five demands announce a three-member negotiating team to hold talks with the government, with Himal Sharma as the leader of the team. The Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party, Samyukta Janamorcha announce the common view that forming an all-party government or restoring the dissolved Parliament is was a solution to the current political crisis.
March 17	Speaking in Mahendranagar, Prime Minister Chand says the Constitution does not have any provision to revive the dissolved Parliament as is being demanded by some political parties.
March 19	Minister Pun is appointed convenor and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) spokesperson Kamal Thapa as monitoring team member from the Government-side to oversee ‘code of conduct’ and cease-fire violations.
March 20	Repots say the Maoists have abducted Nepali Congress (Democratic) Pyuthan district chairman Shalikram Pandit and another local-level leader at Bangdala.
March 22	Reports say, Maoist leader Mahara has set preconditions for peace talks to commence and demanded the release of five central-level leaders and withdraw the cases filed against many Maoists, including top leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai. Supreme Court orders release of pro-Maoist journalists Ram Karki and Maheshwore Dahal.
March 23	The Government and the insurgents trade charges of cease-fire violations.
March 25	Insurgent’s chief Prachanda alleges in a interview that Government forces are violating the truce and reiterates the demand for the release of five jailed top leaders ahead of talks. Media reports say several Maoist insurgents have been released from different jails, but some of them are re-arrested. Supreme Court orders release of three Maoist sympathisers, all members of family belonging to Jhapa district. Insurgents abduct two policemen from Manawa village in Parsa district.
March 27	Maoist insurgents accuse Government of delaying the peace talks.
March 28	Government chief negotiator Pun says peace talks will commence on April 1. Insurgents’ leader and chief negotiator Bhattarai comes over-ground in Kathmandu, as do the other members of the rebel team at the talks. They are Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal, Matrika Yadav, Deb Bahadur Gurung and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
March 31	Chief Maoist negotiator Baburam Bhattarai meets Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand at a public meeting in Kathmandu and calls for fresh elections to resolve the continuing political crisis.
April 1	Baburam Bhattarai discusses, among other things, peace talks with Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) chief Pasupati S J B Rana.
April 3	Insurgents suspend peace talks with Government alleging non-fulfillment of its demands on withdrawing cases against leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and Baburam Bhattrai.
April 5	Bhattrai admits involvement of Maoist insurgents in the killing of Armed Police Force chief Inspector General Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and a bodyguard, on January 26.
April 6	Government negotiator in the peace talks Narayan Singh Pun says that Government will not release all Maoist prisoners.
April 7	Babruam Bhattarai demands immediate release of Maoists prisoners or at lest five central committee members to resume peace talks.
April 8	A negotiator for the Maoists, Dev Gurung, says that insurgents are ready to withdraw their demand for a new Constituent Assembly. Baburam Bhattarai is quoted as saying, "We will force the rulers of the old establishment to the jungle and take control of the state affairs if the peace talks fail."
April 9	Nuwakot District Security Committee sets free eight imprisoned Maoist insurgents.
April 13	Two Maoist Central Committee members, Krishna Dhoj Khadka and Rekha Sharma, are released from prison. Baburam Bhattrai along with five other Maoist leaders meets Narayan Singh Pun, Physical Planing Minister and the Government’s negotiator, for talks.
April 17	Government announces a six-member team for peace negotiations with Maoists.
April 18	Government’s negotiator for peace talks, Narayan Singh Pun, announces that first round of ‘goodwill talks’ with the Maoists will be held on April 21. Chief Government negotiator, B P Mandal says the Government will form a committee to assist the negotiators. He also invites all interested political parties to join the peace talks.
April 20	Postponement of April 21 "preliminary talks" announced following a meeting between Maoist leader Bhattarai and member of Government’s negotiating team Narayan Singh Pun. Four opposition parties–Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified-Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), Samyuakta Janamorcha and the Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party refuse to join Government’s proposed committee for talks saying the government is illegal. Maoist insurgents allegedly abduct 27 civilians from the Taplejung, Tanahu and Sarlahi districts.
April 22	Royal Nepal Army (RNA) spokesperson Col. Deepak Gurung asks Maoists to return weapons looted from the security forces.
April 24	Government and Maoist leaders agree to hold peace talks on April 27.
April 25	Home Secretary Tika Dutta Niraula and the US Ambassador Mike Malinowski sign joint agreement on countering terrorism.
April 26	Maoist leader, Bhattarai alleges that the government is vitiating the environment before the talks by conniving with the US.
April 27	First round of peace talks held between Maoist leaders and Government in Kathamandu. Maoists submit a 35-point agenda at the meeting. Former speaker Damannath Dhungana and ex-Member of Parliament and human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar are appointed as facilitators from the Maoists’ side. The Government also nominates former Minister Shailendra Kumar Upadhaya and former Chief Secretary Karna Dhoj Adhikari as facilitators. Mahara and Pun are also nominated as spokespersons respectively for the Maoists and Government for the talks.
April 30	The US includes Maoist insurgents in the ‘other terrorist organisations’ list.
May 1	Facilitator’s for peace talks Shailendra Kumar Upadhaya, Karna Dhoj Adhikari, Damannath Dunghana and Padma Ratna Tuladhar meet Prime Minister L K Chand and separately with the chief Maoists’ negotiator B Bhattrai to discuss future course of peace talks.
May 2	Chief Maoist negotiator Bhattrai criticises the US for designating Maoists in the list of other terrorist organisations. Maoists allegedly abduct three government officials at Makalu.
May 4	Maoist insurgents allegedly abduct three journalists at Mehalamudi.
May 5	RNA warns that Maoists would have to pay a ‘heavy price’ if they withdrew from the peace talks. US Ambassador to Nepal, Michael Malinowski says that Maoists’ name from the other terrorist organisations could be removed if they terminated violence.
May 7	Three journalists’ abducted on May 4 from Mehalamudi escape from Maoists captivity to reach Kalikot.
May 9	Second round of peace talks begins at Kathmandu. Reports say Government has agreed on restriction of Army movement within five kilometers from their barracks in the ‘Maoist areas’ and to release three Maoists Central Committee members.
May 11	Maoist insurgents open contact office at Shanti Galli in Anamnagar in Kathmandu.
May 13	Maoist insurgents allegedly abduct 20 persons in Paachthar district.
May 14	RNA says that no order has come from Government on restriction of patrolling in Maoists areas.
May 15	Maoist chief negotiator Bhattarai puts forth five demands including release of central committee members and restriction on Army movement. Bhattarai meets the 11 party coalition supporting anti-King agitation.
May 16	Government negotiator Narayan Pun says that decision was taken at the second round of peace talks on May 9 to restrict the movement of security forces. The 11 party coalition decides to form an 11-member committee, including Maoists, to draft a common programme for peace talks.
May 19	Bhutan Foreign Minister Jigme Y.Thinley discusses repatriation of Bhutanese refuges in Nepal camps with his Nepalese counterpart Narendra Bikram Shah.
May 21	Nepal and Bhutan agree to categorise 12,000 refugees in the Khudanabari camp into two groups of those who were forcibly evicted and those who left Bhutan voluntarily 13 years ago at the 14^th Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting in Kathmandu.
May 24	Maoist insurgents allegedly abduct nine persons of Tharu community from Kailali district.
May 30	Nepalese Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigns.
June 4	King Gyanendra appoints Rashtriya Prajatantra Party leader Surya Bahadur Thapa as the new Prime Minister. Maoists demand release of three Central Committee Member of their party.
June 5	Surya Bahadur Thapa sworn in as the new Premier. Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda says that "the new Government has no difference from the previous… Our attitude to the government remains the same".
June 8	Maoists announce a ‘peaceful movement’ and nine-member committee under Chitra Bahadur Shrestha for the success of the peace talks and to ‘stop foreign intervention’ in the affairs of the country.
June 9	Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal announces his party’s readiness to give up arms if the security forces reciprocate.
June 11	King Gyanendra announces a seven member Council of Minister headed by Premier Surya Bahadur Thapa. A joint security patrol party arrest 17 Maoists, including two women cadres, and recovers an unspecified amount of arms and ammunition at Gokuleshwor Bazzar in Darchula district.
June 12	Government announces Finance Minister Prakash Chandra Lohini and Communications Minister Kamal Thapa as the official negotiators for peace talks with Maoist insurgents and Kamal Thapa as the Government spokesperson. Bhattarai alleges that the King is undermining the existing Constitution and political parties’ recommendation for the Prime Ministership by appointing Surya Bahadur Thapa as Premier and says Maoists may ‘return to the forests’ if talks fail.
June 13	Maoist leader Mahara says no third round of peace talks unless agreements are implemented.
June 14	Kamal Thapa announces former Foreign Minister Shailendra Kumar Upadhaya and retired Chief Secretary Karna Dhoj as facilitators for Government in the peace talks. Meanwhile, former Speaker of Parliament Daman Dhungana and a human rights activist Padma Tuladhar are the Maoists’ nominees for the same. Two soldiers are killed and four others injured in an encounter with Maoists at Kusum in Dang district.
June 15	Activists of the Maoist affiliated Kirat Worker’s Party (KWP) abduct principal of a local school from Mainabuduk in Dhankuta district.
June 17	Indian Embassy spokesperson informs that the second round of India-Nepal talks on renewing the five-decade-old Extradition Treaty will be held in the second week of July in New Delhi.
June 18	Army and Maoists exchange fire in the western district and Army claims that some 300 Maoists were involved in the incident.
June 19	Government opens coordination secretariat for peace talks in Kathmandu. Government and the Maoists accuse each other of violating cease-fire rules and code of conduct. Asia-Pacific commander of the US Army, Lieutenant General James Campbell, meets Nepal Army Chief General Pyar Jung Thapa and assures cooperation in military and counter-insurgency operations.
June 21	Two Maoist insurgents are killed and five more are injured in a clash with security forces at Jajarkot.
June 23	Army accuses Maoists of resuming arms training in the remote districts and also of threatening people not to attend Government run health camps.
June 25	A Maoist insurgent is killed in an encounter with the Army at Kulung. A Home Ministry communiqué reiterates that forcible collection of money is illegal.
June 26	Nepali Congress (NC) leader Narhari Acharya asks Maoists to submit their demands to all political parties and resume talks.
June 27	Maoists’ leader Puspa Kamal Thapa Dahal alias Prachanda sends 24-point demands to the five opposition political parties.
June 28	Maoists abduct two political activists from Pakha village in Jumla district.
June 29	Maoist leader Prachanda ask the Government to come up with its agenda for the third round of peace talks. Government spokesperson Kamal Thapa says the Government is ready for third round of peace talks.
June 30	Krishna Bahadur Mahara says that restriction on Army movement will not impede the peace talks.
July 1	Maoist peace talks facilitator, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, announces that the Government and insurgents have agreed to participate in the third round of talks. Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara says that the right to ‘revolt’ and ‘multi-party democracy’ will be key elements of the political set up envisaged by them.
July 3	Government negotiators and Maoists hold informal meeting at an undisclosed location in Kathmandu. Maoists claim three central committee members release and restriction on Army deployment as conditions for negotiations.
July 4	Royal Nepal Army reiterates that it has not received any orders from the Government on restriction of its movement.
July 7	A Maoist ‘platoon commander’ is arrested at Basantapatti, Rautahat district. Security forces destroy a Maoist training camp at Talkharka in Panchthar.
July 11	Negotiators of Government and Maoists meet unofficially at a secret place in Kathmandu. Maoists abduct two Army personnel and three civilians from Makwanpur.
July 12	Three Maoists released from prison in Kathmandu.
July 13	Government Spokesperson and Communications Minister Kamal Thapa sends letter to Bhattarai to propose a date for peace talks. Bhattarai says interim government under the Maoist leadership will be the prime agenda in the talks.
July 15	Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) meeting reportedly held somewhere in India supports the Maoist ‘People’s war’. Local administration in Panchthar district releases 14 Maoist insurgents from prison.
July 16	Security forces arrest Maoist contact office secretary Bharat Dhungana at Anamnagar in Kathmandu.
July 17	Maoist ‘high-command’ hold meeting at Surkhet-Jhajarkot to discuss Government proposal. Maoists close their contact office in Kathmandu.
July 18	Maoists kill a retired police officer at Majpokhari in Ilam. Government assures ‘safe passage’ for Maoists peace team members, during peace talks, even if it fails.
July 19	Maoist insurgents abduct six persons in the Sankhuwasabha district
July 20	50 armed-Maoists attack a police post of Sugauli Customs Office, Parsa, and seize a dozen weapons. Security forces arrest seven members of All Nepal National Independent Students Union -Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), the Maoists’ student wing.
July 21	Home Ministry and Maoists deny reports of an attack on the Sugauli Customs Police Post on July 21 in separate statements.
July 22	Seven Maoists, including two women insurgents, declare their decision to abandon the outfit.
July 23	Maoist leader Bhattarai proposes direct talks with the King. Also asks the King to authorize the Government as a representation of Monarch through a public statement.
July 24	A woman Maoist insurgent is killed by the security forces in Kalikot district. Maoist leader Prachanda in the first national convention of the Kirat National Front (KNF), an ethnic insurgent group in eastern Nepal in Panchthar district, assures full control of KNF in the eastern part after the success of the ‘people war’.
July 25	Government sends letter to Maoists calling for a third round of peace talks. Maoist’s leader Bichitra announces the launch of a FM radio broadcast station in seven districts of the western Nepal.
July 27	Peace facilitators meet to discuss the third round of peace talks.
July 28	Maoists send a response letter to the Government carrying five demands.
July 29	Government releases three Maoist central committee members–Rabindra Shrestha, Bamdev Chhetri and Mumaram Khanal - from prison. Government spokesperson Kamal Thapa says that Army will not act against Maoists, except in self-defence.
August 1	Opposition parties welcome the Maoist response to the peace talks as positive and demand a ‘fully authoritative all-party government’ to participate in the peace talks.
August 2	Government Spokesperson Kamal Thapa proposes August 12 as the date for third round of peace talks with Maoist insurgents.
August 3	Maoists attack Ramechhap District Police Office and abduct seven civilians and one police personnel in separate incidents.
August 4	Maoists dissolve the existing five-member peace talks committee and appoint a new two-member committee comprising Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
August 8	Maoists’ leader Rabi Karki blames CPN (Maoist) for ‘high-handedness’ and ‘war lord mentality’ and severs his ties with the outfit.
August 12	Government spokesperson Kamal Thapa announces August 17 as the date for peace talks.
August 15	SFs kill three Maoist insurgents and destroy communications base station of the Maoists at Khamlelung village in the Taplejung district.
August 17	Third round of peace talks between the Government and Maoist insurgents is held at Nepalgunj. The Government presents its agenda and also agrees to hold a round table conference and form an interim Government as demanded by the Maoists.
August 22	Government peace talks’ convenor Prakash Chandra Lohani says that the Maoist demand for a new constituent assembly is unacceptable.
August 23	Indian immigration officials arrest Maoist politburo member Chandra Prakash Gajurel at the international airport in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Maoist leader Prachanda requests Indian Government to release Gajurel.
August 24	Nepal Government expels Pakistan High Commission official Mohammed Masood alias Mustafa, who was arrested on August 18 for possession of fake Indian currency.
August 25	Maoist insurgents attack the convoy of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Amkhoiya jungle near Dhangadhi. SFs kill ten Maoists and recover some arms and ammunition at Shera river area of Nauthar village in Lamjung district.
August 26	Maoists kill three police personnel in the Mahottari district. SFs kill seven Maoist insurgents in the Melbote area of Panchthar district.
August 27	Maoist insurgents unilaterally and "temporarily" pull out from the seven-month old cease-fire with the Nepalese Government. Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda in a statement, reportedly posted on the Maoists' web site, holds the Government responsible for the decision. He said, "The rationale for cease-fire, code of conduct and talks process is now over for the time being."
August 28	Maoists kill a top official of the Royal Nepal Army in the Baneshwor area of Kathmandu. Government declares the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) as a terrorist group.
August 29	Former minister Debendra Raj Kandel is shot at and injured by the Maoists. Maoists loot Rupees 2.4 million from the Nepal Bank Limited’s branch office at Parsa Bazaar in Khaireni.
September 1	SF personnel kill five Maoist insurgents in the Bahundanda and Thunuwakhola villages.
September 2	SFs kill 11 Maoist insurgents during an encounter in the Pasagaon area of Lamjung district.
September 5	SFs kill 10 Maoists in an encounter at Karnali bridge in the Bajura district.
September 6	Maoists throw bombs at the ancestral home of Raj Sabha (council of state) member Rudra K.C. in the Myagdhi district. Security forces kill six Maoist insurgents at Bayalbas and Danubari villages.
September 7	SFs kill 20 Maoists during a clash at Ghartigaon in the Rolpa district. In Accham district, 12 Maoists are killed in an encounter with the SFs. Six SF personnel and three Maoist insurgents are killed in clashes at Ghartigaon and Gorcha villages of Rolpa district.
September 8	Eight civilians are killed and 12 others injured in bomb explosions at six places in Kathmandu. Maoist insurgents trigger off a bomb and destroy the farmhouse of the former Chief of the Army Staff, Gadul SJB Rana, in the Prasuna village of Bara district.
September 9	Maoists bomb a tourist resort owned by the former Chief of Army, Satchit SJB Rana, in the Gorkha district.
September 11	Three SF personnel are killed and four others injured in an ambush by Maoists at Pulpur village in the Sindhupalchowk district.
September 12	Maoists kill six civilians in Kathmandu.
September 13	Maoists ambush the Rampur telephone exchange of the Nepal Telecommunications Corporation in Chitwan district.
September 14	Two women Maoists are killed by SFs at Charghare village in Nuwakot district.
September 17	Security forces (SF) kill 57 Maoists in an operation in the Bhagawn area of Rolpa district. Maoists set ablaze Premier Surya Bahadur Thapa's farmhouse in Morang and Chairman of Rajparishad Standing Committee Parsu Narayan Chaudhari's house in Dang.
September 18	29 Maoists are killed in different incidents across the country. Maoists commence FM broadcasting in Bara.
September 20	Maoists shot dead Ganga Prasad Subedi, a member of the Raj Parishad (King’s council or advisory group) in Jarbuta.
September 22	18 Maoists are killed in the Udayapur, Banke and Nuwakot districts.
September 23	15 Maoists are killed in the districts of Kailali, Barida, Taplejung and Panchthar. Maoists set ablaze the house of the Raj Parishad (King’s council) Standing Committee member, Parsuram Rai, in Nerpa.
September 24	Maoist blow up a police post in Mangalpur, a district police office in Butwal and an administration office at Chandranigahpur.
September 25	SF personnel kill 11 Maoists in the Surket, Kailali, Dadeldhura and Rupandahi districts.
September 26	Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal announces a unilateral cease-fire for nine days during the Dashain and Tihar festival period. Insurgents bomb a Government building each in the Bara and Mohottaril districts and set ablaze the ancestral home of former Chief Election Commissioner Bishnu Pratap Shah in Dhading district.
September 27	12 Maoist insurgents are killed in an encounter at Chitapokhari in the Khotang district. Maoists blast a Nepal Telecommunications Corporation transmission tower and five government offices in Janakpur.
September 29	SFs kill 18 Maoist insurgents in separate incidents across the country. Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai says "we will adopt an aggressive strategy if the Government failed to reach an understanding through dialogue."
September 30	35 Maoist insurgents are killed in an encounter at Katahira police post in the Rautahat district. Finance Minister Prakash Chandra Lohani says "the Government forces will not halt action against Maoists during the Dashain festival (Hindu festival) period… Government cannot shy away from its responsibility of safeguarding life and property of people."
October 1	Maoists abduct 18 activists of the Communist Party of Nepal (Ekata Kendra) in Pyuthan district.
October 6	Maoists declare a nine-day unilateral cease-fire from October 2-10 during the Dashain festival period.
October 9	Insurgents kill four security force personnel and injure six others in an ambush near Trivog in the Udaipur district.
October 11	SFs kill at least 125 Maoist insurgents in a clash that ensued after a Maoist attack on the army base camp at Kusum in the Dang district. Maoists abduct the former Minister of State for Home Affairs and Nepali Congress leader Mahendra Yadav from his residence at Pripadi in the Mohottai district.
October 12	25 Maoist insurgents and 13 security force personnel are killed when the insurgents attacked the Bhalubang police barrack in Dang district.
October 13	Security forces kill 12 Maoists in the Doti district.
October 15	Security forces kill at least 35 Maoists, including some women cadres, in separate operations across the country.
October 16	At least 16 Maoist insurgents are killed in a clash with the security forces at Chhatwal in the Sarlahi district.
October 19	Insurgents abduct a Brigadier General of the British Army and four other officials, including three British Gurkha officials, from Lekhani village in Baglung district.
October 20	Maoists release all the abducted British Army officials in Baglung district.
October 21	Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal says "rebels from today onwards, will not attack physical infrastructure, ex-security force personnel and security men who are on leave" and "new taxation system will be introduced for big businessmen and industrialists and international NGO’s will not be allowed to function in Nepal." Maoists blast the ancestral house of Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sharvendra Nath Shukla, in Rupandehi district.
October 26	Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal apologizes for the October 19-abduction of British Army officials.
October 28	Six Maoists are killed in an encounter at Gaidakot in Nawalparasi district. Seven security force personnel and two civilians are killed during a Maoist attack on the Sishuwa Police Post at Danda Nak in Kaski district.
October 31	USA declares Maoists to be a security threat and freezes its assets as a part of sanctions on it.
November 2	At least ten security force (SF) personnel are killed and six others injured in an ambush by Maoist insurgents at Simara.
November 4	Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa rejects international mediation in solving the Maoist problem and says "we are capable of dealing with the insurgency".
November 5	Maoists detonate a bomb outside the Crown Prince’s palace (Nirmal Niwas) in the capital Kathmandu.
November 6	SFs seize two truckloads of explosives weighing 130 kilograms and 50 timing devices in the Kathmandu Valley.
November 8	Seven Maoist insurgents are killed in a clash with the SFs at Sainpashala in the Bhajang district.
November 12	12 Maoists are killed in a week long operation by the SFs at Baijapur in the Banke district.
November 13	39 Maoist insurgents surrender to the administrator of the western region.
November 14	India and Nepal decide to form a joint police team to keep vigil in the open border areas following escalation of violent activities and arms smuggling by Maoists.
November 15	Four SF personnel, including Brigadier General Sagar Bahadur Pandey, are killed and nine others injured in an ambush by the Maoist insurgents at Bhainse in Makwanpur.
November 18	Chinese security forces arrest four Maoist insurgents along with Chinese pistols and explosives at Khasa in Tibet.
November 19	Nepal Police arrest a Pakistani national with counterfeit Indian currency worth Rs.400, 000 in the capital Kathmandu.
November 23	SFs kill six Maoist insurgents, including a woman cadre, at Tulsipur in the Dang district.
November 25	United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, says "US Government has decided to give Nepal another 20,000 M-16 rifles to modernize the Royal Nepal Army and for political stability and democracy."
November 26	International Police Organisation (Interpol) issues ‘red corner notice’ against seven Maoist leaders, including the two top leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai.
November 29	Maoists ask 12 boarding schools in Palpa to close down by December 1 Interpol issues ‘red corner’ notices against seven more Maoists, including Chandra Prakash Gajurel, Agni Sapkota, Matrika Yadav, Ishwori Dahal, Haribol Gajurel, Devendra Parajuli and Hitraj Pandey.
November 30	Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal says Interpol's issuance of red corner notice against Maoist leaders will not obstruct their efforts "to seek a political dialogue with the rebels."
December 1	SFs reportedly kill 25 Maoist insurgents in separate incidents in 11 districts.
December 2	SFs kill 12 Maoist insurgents in separate incidents in the Palpa, Argakanchi, Panchthar, Sarlahi Dang districts.
December 3	At least 25 Maoists and six SF personnel are killed in a clash at Bandaul and Pandaun area in Kailali district. 21 insurgents are killed in six districts, including at Palpa, Solokhumbu, Aargakhanchi, Kavre, Rukum and Udaypur.
December 4	SFs kill 15 Maoist insurgents in separate incidents at Palpa, Saptari, Kailali and Morang.
December 5	200 children are abducted by Maoist insurgents from two schools at Achham district in western Nepal.
December 6	At least 14 Maoists are killed during separate operations in Khotang, Sindhuli, Dolakha, Bardia, Taplejung, Panchthar and Okhaldhunga.
December 8	Seven Maoists are killed during security force operations in the Kaski and Khotang districts. 1200 educational institutions in the eastern region of Nepal remain closed on the second day of the three-day shutdown called by All Nepal National Independent Students' Union-Revolutionary's (ANNISU-R), the Maoist student wing.
December 9	SFs arrest at least 25 insurgents during a combing operation in the Okhaldhunga district.
December 10	Maoists detonate two bombs at a British sponsored training center in Nijgarh, Bara district.
December 13	Five Maoists are killed in an encounter with the security forces at Apraha in the Udaypur district.
December 14	35 Maoists are killed during an encounter at Biyako Lekh in the Dailekh district.
December 15	SFs kill 15 Maoist insurgents in separate incidents in five districts, including at Rolpa, Palpa, Ramechap, Kavre and Dhading.
December 16	Maoists lift the two-month long ban on transportation of food grains to the Accham and Bajura districts.
December 17	Maoist insurgents kill 11 soldiers in separate land mine blasts in the Kapilavastu and Bardiya districts. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) request the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Christina Rocca, to provide additional military hardware, including aerial surveillance and communication equipment, logistics and training, to target the command and control system of the Maoists. RNA spokesperson Dipak Gurung claims that at least 1,056 Maoists were killed and 350 kg of explosives, 1,171 detonators and 205 bombs were seized since the collapse of cease-fire on August 27.
December 18	Government announces a general amnesty programme to the Maoist insurgents and urges them, their relatives and associates to eschew violence and surrender with or without weapons before February 12, 2004. Maoists loot a bank at Mangalpur in the Rupandehi district and escape with NRs. 1.2 million.
December 19	The security forces receive the first SLR from a civilian in the Sankhuwasabha district after the Government's offer for insurgents to surrender their arms on December 18. Maoist leader Prachanda condemns the policy of 'amnesty' and 'surrender' and says "the offer was suspicious and new tactic of the Government to build up morale of the already waning royal army."
December 20	Lt. Gen. Chitra Bahadur Gurung announces the formation of village security forces under central division in Lamjung, Parsa and Kapilavastu.
December 22	Security forces kill seven Maoist insurgents in the Hapre jungles of Solukhumbu district.
December 23	Five Maoists are killed by the SFs during an encounter at Libang in the Morang district Maoist student leader Ishwar Dhungana is killed in an encounter with the security forces in Morang.
December 25	SFs kill 16 Maoist insurgents during separate operations across the country. An unspecified quantity of bombs and explosives is recovered from the incident sites.
December 26	Four security force personnel are killed and 11 others injured in a Maoist ambush in Makwanpur Defense Secretary Madan Prasad Aryal survives repeated attempts on his life by the Maoists at Manahari Village Development Committee (VDC) area in Makwanpur. Four soldiers are killed and 11 others injured in the incident.
December 27	Maoists' student wing, the ANNISU-R's call for an indefinite strike for the release of their imprisoned leaders leads to the closure of 93 schools in Baglung district.
December 30	Five Maoist insurgents and three soldiers are killed during a Maoist attempt to loot the Taulihawa branch of Rastriya Banijya Bank in Kapilavastu district.