Nepal Timeline Year 2002

February 17	48 Royal Nepal Army troops and 49 police are killed by Maoists insurgents in Mangalsen (Acham district) clashes.
May 2	32 Maoist insurgents are killed in an attack at their hide out on the border between Dang and Kailali districts.
May 3	Security forces kill 50 insurgents in Rolpa clashes and 40 more in Doti.
May 15	US and UK pledge support to Nepal in its crack down on the Maoists.
May 18	India offers support to fight Maoist insurgents.
May 23	Deuba realises that he has no majority support in Parliament to seek the extension of the ‘state of emergency’ and recommends to the King to dissolve Parliament. Parliament dissolved and calls for fresh elections on November 13.
May 26	The Girija Prasad Koirala group of the Nepali Congress expels PM Sher Bahadur Deuba from the party disagreeing with his decision to dissolve Parliament. A war of words follows between the two factions.
May 27	Emergency extended for three months through an executive order.
May 28	100 Maoist insurgents are killed in a failed attack on the Army camp in Rukum.
June 22	28 Maoist insurgents are shot dead in separate operations by security forces.
June 26	Police kills a senior leader of the Maoist insurgents at Sukdhev Chowk in Rautahat.
June 29 and June 30	Security forces kill 10 Maoist insurgents in Dandeldhura and Morang in separate operations.
July 4	Chief Secretary of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal, Keshav Raj Rajbhandari says, preparations are being made for signing an extradition treaty between Nepal and India.
July 5	A high-intensity bomb explosion rocks the headquarters of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction of the Nepali Congress party in New Baneswore area, in the capital Kathmandu. 10 persons are injured. The Maoist insurgents are suspected to have carried out the attack.
July 6	Insurgency and counter-insurgency operations hit a state of lull. Maoist insurgents kill former police personnel in Bijauri, Dang district.
July 7	Royal Nepal Army (RNA) kills a Maoist insurgent in Darchula district in an encounter. Another insurgent is injured in a separate encounter in Shantipur, 11 am.
July 9 and July 11	The troops of the RNA kill seven Maoists insurgents in separate incidents.
July 11 and 12	10 Maoist insurgents are killed in separate encounters.
July 15	RNA troops kill an area committee member of the Maoist insurgents in Jumla district.
July 18	Eight Maoists are killed in country-wide counter-insurgency operations.
July 31	Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba brushes aside Maoist insurgents’ demand for a Constituent Assembly. Deuba announces that Emergency would be lifted during the general elections due on November 13.
August 1	Maoist insurgents kill an activist of the Rashtriya Praja Party (RPP) and injures a sympathiser of the Communist Party of Nepal—United-Marxist-Leninist.
August 2	Maoist insurgents abduct a Nepalese aid worker employed with a British charity near Rolpa-Pyuthan border after waylaying a bus.
August 3	15 Maoist insurgents are killed in counter-insurgency operations in Dolkha district. A security force personnel and two local residents are also injured in the cross firing.
August 4	60 Maoist insurgents surrender in Okhaldhunga, mid-eastern Nepal and. 19 more surrender in Nuwakot district.
August 6	Nepal’s Supreme Court unanimously upholds Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s recommendation to the King to dissolve Parliament and seek mid-term polls. 86 Maoist insurgents surrender in Kavre, Bhaktapur and Khotang.
August 9	Pro-Maoist students set-off a blast at a college in Kahthmandu injuring six persons.
August 10	Insurgents’ Giripade area commander Padam Raut, alias Tiger, is shot dead in Jumla
August 11	Communications Minister Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta reiterates government-stand that there would be no talks with the Maoist insurgents as long as counter-insurgency operations are on, and unless the insurgents laid down arms. Maoist’s chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias ‘Comrade’ Prachanda, amidst threats to disrupt the November 13-snap polls says, in a statement published in the media, his party is ready for peace talks. Communications Minister Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta, at a press conference in Kathmandu, says rejects Prachanda’s offer and says, "There can be no talks while operations continue" against the insurgents and reiterates the government‘s stand that surrender of arms by the insurgents should precede peace talks, if and when they are held.
August 12	10 insurgents are shot dead in an encounter following a raid on an insurgent’s shelter in Banke, in the far-west of the country. Media reports say the Interpol has issued ‘red-corner’ notices for the arrest of Prachanda, top-leader Baburam Bhattarai and other prominent leaders Chandra Prakash Gajurel, Haribol Gajurel, Pampha Bhusal, Agni Sapkota, Rit Bahadur Khadka and Debendra Parajuli.
August 14	‘Area committee member’ Bal Bahadur Pun among four Maoists shot dead in Chunawang, Rukum district.
August 15	Army spokesperson Col. Dipak Gurung says approximately 2,290 Maoist insurgents have been killed in various encounters across the country since November 23, 2001, following resumption of clashes. The number could be as high as 3,100 he adds.
August 16	Media reports quote Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and say the British government has extended an assistance of pound sterling 6.5 million to Nepal to fight the Maoist insurgents. The money is to be used to purchase military hardware. Reports also disclose that the United States has already provided US$ 20 million in assistance to the Maoists.
August 17	The Siraha area commander is shot dead by troops.
August 18	The Myagdhi area commander is shot dead by troops.
August 20	30 Maoist insurgents shot dead in Thawang village, Rolpa, in the biggest operation the Army has conducted since May 27.
August 22	Minister of State for Home Devendra Raj Kandel escapes an attempt on his life during an ambush laid by the Maoist insurgents when they placed roadblocks and fired upon his convoy. Army deposits Rs.1.6 million with the Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB). The money was unearthed from a dump in Karve and was reportedly concealed there by the insurgents. Also, the Army deposits Rs.8, 365 in Indian currency, Australian $ 540, US $ 1, 060, sterling pounds 230 and Japanese yen 67,000––all of which were recovered during another search in Naladum, Karve district. Nine insurgents are shot dead in Dolpa at a shelter in an attack by the Army
August 24	Five Maoists are killed in Kailali and Bardia districts in clashes with troops.
August 25	Maoist insurgents commit burglary at the Nepal Bank, in Chandranigahapur, Rautahat, and decamp with 7.5 million rupees. Two insurgents and a police personnel are killed in exchange of fire during the incident, while two guards and another are injured.
August 27	Media reports say Belgium’s Health and Environment Minister Magda Aelvoet quits the Cabinet opposing the sale of 5,500 machine guns to Nepal. Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Foreign Minister Louis Michael said they regret her resignation, while Michael defends the sale as ‘ethical’. 11 insurgents surrender in Karve.
August 28	Area commander Sher Bahadur Tharu alias Bijaya, area committee members Nabin Tharu alias Akhanda and Rajendra Dahal alias Abinash shot dead in Bardia, Kanchanpur district.
August 30	Insurgents blast and severely damage the residence of a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Gerkhu, Nuwakot.
September 1	33 insurgents surrender in Sindhupalchowk. Five Nepali Congress activists and a CPN-UML activist are massacred by in the insurgents in Ramchep district, in two separate incidents.
September 4	State of Emergency originally declared on November 27, 2001 expires. Prime Minister Deduba chairs security met to review law and order situation.
	Sven Maoist insurgents killed in retaliatory firing by troops during a search operation in Motipur, Bardia district.
September 5	Army deposits with the Nepal Rashtra Bank NRB NR 2.89 million recovered from the Maoist insurgents during searches conducted over the weeks. Jewelry and gold is deposited, too. Previously, NR 6.4 million and 31kg of gold were deposited with the Bank on two separate occasions. Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Inspector General Krishna Mohan Shrestha says, in Pokhara, additional 25,000 personnel would be recruited into the Force, up from the present 11,000. He adds, personnel are being trained at 24 centers and have been deployed at 51 points in the country.
September 6	400kg of explosives and 490 rounds of ammunition are recovered in Bhaisanaka area, Dang District, following an encounter.
September 8	A little past midnight, 49 police personnel are killed and 21 more injured in an attack by a group of an estimated 1,100 Maoist insurgents in Sindhuli district at the Bhimad police post. 11 policemen reported missing. Insurgents foil attempts to rush-in reinforcements. At least, 50 insurgents are killed in the clashes. During night, a group of an estimated 3,000 insurgents, in the Argakhachi district headquarters town of Sandhikharka, kill 68 SF personnel and raze to the ground every government office in the town. The insurgents also NR 90 million from a Bank in the town. Unconfirmed reports claim 267 insurgents died in retaliatory action by SFs.
September 10	Maoist insurgents blast the residence of Hom Nath Dahal, spokesman of the Nepali Congress faction headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, in Okhaldungha.
September 11	Insurgents attack and damage the home of former Minister of State Bhakta Bahadur Rokaya at Mahat in Jumla, and separately set-off explosions at the home of former Minister Netra Bikram Thapa.
September 12	Insurgents set-off an explosion and destroy the residence of Minister of State for Local Development Duryodhan Singh Chandhary at Padsari, Rupandehi district.
September 13	Nine policemen, travelling in a jeep, are killed in an ambush laid by Maoist insurgents near the Mahendra Highway, Siraha district. Six troops, including a Major, heading to Dang from Nepalgunj in a vehicle, are injured in an ambush laid by the insurgents.
September 15	An all party meeting called by the Koirala faction of the Nepali Congress suggests that the government and the Maoist insurgents should engage in talks. The meeting also asks the insurgents to declare cease-fire and come to the negotiating table.
September 16	A nationwide general shut down call given by the insurgents disrupts normal life in several parts of the country, including in the capital Kathmandu. Insurgent-chief Prachanda asks all "political forces loyal to the people" to pressurise the government for a cease-fire and to commence talks. The call is given in the light of some political parties making a case for declaration of truce and commencement of peace talks. Insurgents abduct 12 activists of the CPN––UML in Dang and Tanahu.
September 19	Insurgents storm a helicopter of Karnali Air soon after landeing in Jubu, Solokhumbu district, and abduct the pilot and the lone passenger.
September 20	Gopal Bishwakarma, president of the Bardia Nepal Dalit Sangh (BNDS), an association of the downtrodden is shot dead by the Maoists. 15 Maoist insurgents are killed in an accidental explosion in Banke. The passenger and the pilot abducted in Solokhumbu district are set free.
September 21	17 insurgents killed in clashes with troops in their stronghold of Rolpa.
September 22	55 insurgents, including instructors and platoon commanders, are killed in Rukum district, and 14 in Rolpa, in a major operation. Insurgents’ chairman Prachanda and chairman of the Maoist-parallel ‘people’s government’ Baburam Bhattarai make an offer of truce, the eighth in two months. In a statement, they say, "We would agree on a cease-fire if the government comes forward for peace talks".
September 23	At least 74 insurgents are shot dead in a major operation by troops in Rolpa. Maoist leader Tilak Bahadur Baniya of Lamachaur Engineering College, Kaski surrenders.
September 24	Media reports say Prime Minister Deuba declared that the Maoist insurgents must remain sincere and keep their promises, if meaningful peace talks are to be held. He adds, "The government is committed to defeat the forces of terrorism by all means and accordingly hold the elections in the specified date [November 13]".
September 28	Defence Secretary Madan Prasad Aryal leaves for London to discuss with the British government the coordination of international efforts to curb Maoist insurgency in the country. Maoists attack the Phaplu airport tower causing a damage of NR 2 million.
September 29	Army seizes from the insurgents NR 70,000––looted from a bank––during a search in Gopalgunj Chitwan district.
October 1	Army spokesperson Col. Dipak Gurung says, at least 100 Maoist insurgents were shot dead and 500 more injured, at their hideouts in Rolpa and Rukum, by troops in insurgents’ pursuit from Argakanchi, on September 11, 2002. Media reports say, at least 2,820 insurgents are confirmed killed and 950 more feared dead in clashes with security forces after a ‘state of Emergency’ was imposed on November 27, 2001. 205 soldiers, including officers, have been killed in operations in more than 10 months, reports hold.
October 2	Insurgents’ commander Hem Raj Chaudhary shot dead in Syangjha.
October 4	King Gyanendra calls Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inept at handling the insurgency, dismisses him from office, assumes executive powers and assures commitment to democratic values and welfare of citizens. He declares that a national government would be appointed. November 13-mid-term polls to the National Assembly are indefinitely deferred. Deuba says his dismissal is unconstitutional.
October 6	Insurgents’ parallel ‘local government’ chief among 10 Maoists killed in Rukum district.
October 8	United States Embassy in Kathmandu announces $34,800 humanitarian aid for insurgency victims.
October 11	Lokendra Bahadur, a Palace loyalist, assumes charge as caretaker Prime Minister in place of Deuba, who the King dismissed on October 4. The second meeting of the international consortium to assess Nepal’s development and military needs is held in Kathmandu under the headship of British Minister Mike O’Brien. The UK, the US, India, China and Japan are members of the consortium.
October 12	European Union asks the Chand government to integrate the Maoist insurgents with the national mainstream and to hold nation-wide polls at an early date.
October 13	Suspected Maoist insurgents send a letter bomb to retired Army Chief Gen. Sachit SJB Rana. No damage or casualties are reported.
October 16	Insurgents set-off a blast at a school administered by a former teacher of Baburam Bharttarai, chairman of the Maoists’ parallel ‘people’s government’. Insurgents blast a school administered by a former teacher of insurgent leader Baburam Bhattarai, in Kailali.
October 16
October 19	Maoist insurgents lay an ambush in which three policemen are killed and 19 more injured––nine of them seriously, near Lamki, Kailali district. Insurgents-'platoon commander’ Tirtha Thapa is killed in retaliatory firing by troops in Myagdhi.
October 21	Nine Maoist insurgents are killed in an operation in Bardia.
October 22	15 insurgents are killed in the continuing operation in Bardia.
October 23	United Nations resident representative Henning Karcher offers to extend cooperation through dialogue to resolve problems created as a result of the Maoist insurgency. Nine insurgents are killed in the continuing operation in Bardia.
October 23
October 24	Maoist insurgents target a joint-venture bank for the first time and loot NR 3.8 million from the Everest Bank, in Simara, 75km away from the capital Kathmandu.
October 25	Maoist insurgents chairman 'comrade' Prachanda calls for a dialogue between the insurgents, political parties, the King and the intelligentsia to prevent what he calls frittering away the gains of the '1990-pro-democracy movement'. He warns the insurgency would continue if the dialogue is not held. He says there could be no alteration to the constitutional provisions vesting sovereignty in the people and criticises the King for assuming executive powers. He declares, "The talk of dialogue against the backdrop of King Gyanendra's recent move has made the situation quite complicated and confusing… What we want is that the real situation be made clear without any ill-intention or conspiracy."
October 27	Insurgents attack the Rumjatar airport, Okhaldhunga district. The chief of the security forces stationed there, a Captain in the Army, and two more troops are killed. 42 insurgents, too, are killed in the clashes.
October 28	Insurgents storm a police post in Dumkibas near Butwal, along the east-west King Mahendra Highway, and shoot four policemen dead. Insurgents behead three troops in civilian dress in Borle, Nuwakot district. 14 Maoist activists surrender in Morang. Insurgents set free former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress (Democratic) general convention representative and district committee member Tuka Nath Paudel after holding him captive for 51 days.
November 1	10 Maoists are killed at Chandrapur in Bardia district in clashes with troops of the Royal Nepal Army. The Maoists insurgents set free 16 persons abducted earlier from three villages in Dang district.
November 3	Maoists loot a branch of the Rashtriya Banijya Bank in Pokhara and decamp with NR 100,000.
November 4	Maoist insurgents set ablaze a bus at Ganeshchowk in Sarlahi killing two persons and injuring 14 more. Suspected insurgents set off explosions at Village Development Committee (VDC) offices in Harisiddhi in Lalitpur; Balambu and Padampur in Kathmandu district, besides destroying 22 more VDC offices in Gulmi district.
November 5	Maoist insurgents set ablaze the offices of Umaza and Karaiya VDCs, in Kalaiya district, and VDC offices in Daprathi, Parasauni and Phattepur, besides burning down the office of Panauti Municipality office in Kavre district. Five journalists detained on charges of having affiliations with Maoist insurgents are set free. The journalists are: monthly publication Dishabodh Executive Editor Ishwar Chandra Gyawali, Co-editor Manarishi Dhital, weekly Janadesh Editor Dipendra Rokaya, Reporter Dipak Sapkota and weekly Aikyabaddhata Editor Mina Sharma Tiwari. Reports add quoting The Federation of Nepalese Journalists that at least 20 more journalists are still in detention.
November 7	Maoist Insurgents set-off serial blasts in Banepa killing a person. Maoists attack 21 VDC offices in Kapilvastu district and destroy documents and furniture.
November 9	Maoist insurgents kill dead a Nepalese citizen working as a guard with the United States Embassy in Kathmandu. Security Forces shoot and kill an area commander in Mashuria, Kailali district, as he attempts to flee from custody. He was arrested earlier in Lohsha.
November 10	Five sympathisers of the Maoist insurgents, including a woman from Kotatulisipur, Kailali district, surrender to the authorities.
November 11	Following a call by the Maoist insurgents’ a three-day strike in Kathmandu Valley begins. 10 insurgents are killed in retaliatory firing by security forces in the Khara forests in Baglung. In all, 30 insurgents are killed in separate operation on the day in Ramechap, Kailali, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur and Taplejung.
November 12	Social Welfare Minister Gore Bahadur says the government has opened all doors for the Maoist insurgents to come to the negotiating table. The Defence Ministry says 10 insurgents were killed in Baglung and eight more killed in Goprusinghe, Taplejung, Jumla, Chitwan and Dhading, in two days.
November 13	Insurgents chairman ‘comrade’ Prachanda and Revolutionary Peoples' Council coordinator Babu Ram Bhattarai warn they would continue with the insurgency unless a congenial atmosphere is created to find a solution to the political impasse. The success of the general strike that concluded on November 12, they say, endorses their demand for a round table discussion for forming an interim government and holding elections to a new Constituent Assembly. They ask all political parties to join their insurgent movement to ‘fulfill the demands of the people’
November 14	Intense clashes occur between the security forces and Maoist insurgents in Jumla and Gorkha. Insurgents, numbering several hundreds, attack Jumla airport and two police establishments and other government offices killing Jumla Chief District Officer Damodar Pant and two civilians Also, 33 policemen and four soldiers are killed in the clashes in Jumla, while the insurgents lose at least 55 cadres. In the clashes in Gorkha, 23 policemen and at least 63 Maoist insurgents have been confirmed killed. Insurgents kill former Member of Parliament Chakra Bahadur Chaudhary of the Communist Party of Nepal––United-Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), at his residence in Dhangadhi. The slain leader represented Kailali constituency in Parliament.
November 17	Maoist insurgents’ leader ‘comrade’ Prachanda apologizes and says, "We were sad to learn that a passenger bus was blown up in an ambush [laid by his cadres] in Dolakha claiming the lives of two passengers and injuring 22 of them." Insurgents looted NR 73.31 million in cash and jewelry from various branches of Nepal Bank Limited in mid and far-western regions of the country.
November 18	Deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal asks India to hand over Maoist insurgents hiding in that country, since India’s Union government has already called them terrorists. He also expresses his government’s willingness to hold talks with the insurgents, except on the issue of monarchy and democracy. Defences Ministry says 16 insurgents have been killed in operations across the country in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Kalikot and Jumla.
November 22	Troops shoot and kill at least 50 Maoist insurgents in ground and aerial attacks in Thulo Kavre, Lamjung district. Five troops were wounded in the incident.
November 23	The insurgents damaged documents and furniture at the offices of 15 VDCs in Kapilvasthu district.
November 24	At least 50 Maoist insurgents are killed and several more injured in operations at different places in Lamjung district.
November 25	The Indian Embassy says there is "no ambiguity" in the country’s policy towards the Maoist insurgents. And declares there exists "close cooperation between Nepal and India in meeting the common challenge posed by terrorists, whatever its source", Cooperation with Nepal includes "assistance and support … to strengthen the capabilities of Nepal to deal with the threat of terrorism". It adds that India is turning-in insurgents to Nepal, whether he was a leader or a low-level cadre.
November 26	The US Embassy in Nepal says Maoist insurgents issued a threat to the Embassy, its staff and American citizens in Nepal. It says, "While the Maoist press release states that Maoist actions are not targeted at foreign tourists, its repeated threatening references to the 'American Mission' implies a heightened risk for both official and private Americans in Nepal." Six Maoist insurgents under detention for the last 10 months are enlarged on bail in Nuwakot.
November 27	A media report says several youth are fleeing villages in mid-western districts amidst mounting pressure from Maoist insurgents to join their ranks, and cites the specific example of Tanahu district.
November 28	Maoist insurgents set-off a blast on Tribhuvan University campus and cause minor damage in the building housing the finance department.
November 29	Insurgents set ablaze the house of serving Army officer Major Krishna Bahadur, in Rajasthal, Gulmi district, and cause damage worth NR 500,000.
December 1	43 insurgents, including a woman, were arrested in Gaur for murder, arson and robbery.
December 3	Maoist insurgents offer to hold peace talks with the incumbent interim government. They assure they would not kill political activists or destroy development infrastructure. They do not, however, relent on their demand for a round table conference, forming an interim government and electing a new constituent assembly to frame a new Constitution. Insurgents’ chairman ‘comrade’ Prachanda says, "We are ready to hold talks with all political forces, including the current ruler of old regime." Reports say the insurgents have formed a committee to represent them at the talks, but make not mention of its composition.
December 4	Insurgents attack Lahan in Siraha district, killing three policemen and themselves losing at least four cadres. Besides, they manage to loot NR 30 million in cash and jewelry.
December 7	Insurgents rob merchants of nearly NR 500,000 in Mangalebare, Ilam district. 5000 educational institutions are closed down in the Kathmandu Valley following the insurgents issuing a strike call.
December 8	Area commander Bhakta Bahadur Dhami is among three Maoist insurgents killed in clashes in Deulekh, Bhajang district. Passenger transport between Gagate and Kharanitar, along Pasang Lhamu Highway, is suspended following a threat issued by the insurgents to operators for allegedly ferrying security force personnel.
December 16	Government set-free from two separate prisons the editors of Janadesh and Janadisha, arrested earlier for close links with Maoist insurgents. Reportedly, 12 more journalists are still being detained.
December 18	Insurgents attack a police post in Koilabas, Indo-Nepal border, Dang district, and kill six policemen injure two more. They also looted an unspecified number of 303 rifles from the police post. Insurgents kill policeman on duty at Surkhet airport and another at the Taplejung airport. An officer of the Royal Nepalese Army, Major Sudesh Acharya, is killed in an accidental grenade explosion in Banke.
December 20	Reports say India has turned in six injured insurgents undergoing treatment in the border district of Sitamarhi in Bihar. They were injured in clashes in September in Sindhuli district.
December 23	Proo-Maoist students ‘suspend’ Kathmandu Valley strike of educational institutions but warn it could be re-launched.
December 25	A general shut-down is observed in western Nepal in response to a call by the insurgents.
December 27	National Security council prepares a concept paper on disarming Maoist insurgents and rehabilitating victims of insurgency. Security forces kill nine Maoist insurgents in operations in Sankhuwasabha, Bardiya, Accham, Kailali, Kanchanpur and Dailekh districts.
December 28	11 insurgents are killed in operations in Surkhet, Dailekh and Rasuwa districts.
	Two policemen are killed in an attack by a group of 25 insurgents on a police post, in Madhuban market, Haraiya village development committee, Bara district Maoist insurgents kill four persons near Lamahi in Dang district.
December 29	14 insurgents are killed in operations in Salyan district, and 11 more in three other districts.
December 30	Two area commanders are shot dead in the forests adjoining Dhurkot village development committee, near Nawalparasi.