Amnesty Says
Nepalese vigilantes cause civilian casualties
AFP, Kathmandu
Nepal's use of vigilante groups to protect villages from Maoist rebels has led to increasing civilian casualties, Amnesty International said today in a report which also highlighted "systematic and routine" torture by troops. The government and security forces supported the creation of "village defence forces" in February 2005 as part of an effort to stem the rebellion that has claimed around 12,000 lives since 1996. "The creation of these village defence forces blurs the distinction between combatants and non-combatants, resulting in an increased number of civilian casualties," said Purna Sen, Asia-Pacific programme director for Amnesty, in the report. "Law enforcement must remain the responsibility of the state and not of vigilante groups." Amnesty said civilians in the countryside, much of which is under Maoist control, face a dual threat from the vigilantes and the rebels that includes forcible recruitment, beatings and sexual harassment of women.
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