At least 12 Maoist rebels were killed in two separate clashes with police in eastern India on Sunday, police said. Nine rebels were killed in a fierce gunbattle in a densely forested area of Orissa state, said Somendra Priyadarshi, deputy inspector general of police.
Police are searching for rebels who fled after the gunbattle, he said. Elsewhere, three rebels were killed in a clash with police in Bokaro district of neighbouring Jharkhand state, police said.
The rebels, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting the government in eastern India for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for the poor. Their presence has expanded as they have tapped into anger among the rural poor left out of India's economic gains.
The rebels are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to the Home Ministry. About 2,000 people _ including police, militants and civilians _ have been killed in violence over the past few years.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has often described the Maoist rebels as India's biggest internal security challenge.
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