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US helping Nepal face Maoist challenge |
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Nearly a dozen US military personnel are in Nepal to assess the country’s security needs in the wake of an upsurge in Maoist violence.
The Pentagon says the military personnel arrived in Nepal following a State Department request for the US Congress to approve $20 million in emergency aid for the tiny Himalayan kingdom to help it combat its seven-year-old Maoist insurgency that has claimed nearly 3,500 lives.
The American team arrived as the Maoists, who are seeking to overthrow constitutional monarchy in the nation, torched the vacant country home of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in western Nepal.
The rebels also called a five-day nationwide strike last week. The US is working with Nepal to improve its ability to counter Maoist insurgents.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: “We are assessing Nepal’s needs and reviewing several options for military assistance to Nepal. We’ve asked Congress for a supplemental appropriation of $20 million in foreign military financing for Nepal so that we can support more assistance.”
He reiterated US support for Nepal’s authorities “to safeguard its citizens against these guerillas within the framework of its own constitution.”
In reply to a question, he said, “I don’t think you can operate on the assumption that the US has to go everywhere to fight every terrorist. I would say at the same time though, you have to know that we are working very closely with the people in Nepal.”
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