Amnesty exposes Nepal's shoot-to-kill policy on Maoist rebels

Judicial system counts for little in the battle against equally ruthless insurgents

The military in Nepal has effectively hijacked the country's judicial process and adopted a policy of 'physical elimination' towards the Maoist insurgency, according to the latest report published by Amnesty International.

Documenting scores of killings and abductions across the country by both soldiers and rebels, the report illustrates how a rural communist insurgency is fast turning into a bloody battle for hearts and minds, transforming picturesque Himalayan hamlets into killing fields.

The Maoists extort money from local businesses. They execute villagers who fail to pay, members of political parties and anyone they believe to be providing information to the security services, Amnesty says, after a two-week visit that ended on Wednesday.

As well as the killings, up to 192 children were reportedly abducted by the Maoists from their homes in western Nepal last month for 'training and indoctrination'.

But the Amnesty report is damning of a military seemingly out of control, concluding: '[There] is strong evidence to suggest that the security forces are operating a policy of killing all those suspected of being active Maoists or supporters, even if they are unarmed, or have surrendered or been taken into custody.'

Charan Prasai, a leading member of the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal, says villagers are being terrorised by both sides. 'People are very afraid as they no longer know who they can trust.'