Dolakha: Landmine explosion on the road to Jiri Nepal: Landmine explosions - High death rate Dang: Maoist rebels ambushed Police patrol Banke: Maoist rebels ambushed APF trucks Nepal: This land is mined land Dolakha: Bus passengers killed in landmine blast - Rebel's apologize Action against landmines: Links

August 2004

At least three civilians were killed and three others injured when a Maoist planted landmine exploded in Dolakha district. A passenger bus came under landmine planted by the Maoists at Namdudanda on the Lamosanghu Jiri road.

August 2004

According to study published by Ban Landmines Campaign, Nepal (BLCN), a total of 280 people died and 676 others were injured due to landmine explosions in Nepal over the last six months in 2004.

Of the dead, at least 120 were innocent civilians. The rest were security personnel or rebels. Over 200 people are killed in Nepal every year due to landmine explosions. Nearly 1,100 people have died of landmine explosions in Nepal since 1998.

"Those falling victims to landmines include school students and farmers," the BLCN study said. According to studies, the landmines used in Nepal include victim detonated mines, command detonated mines and explosives with timer facility. Reports say both the security forces and Maoist rebels use landmines as part of their military strategies. Nepal is yet to ratify the international convention to ban landmines.

June 2004

Maoist rebels killed 14 policemen and four civilians in an ambush in Dang district. Dozens of people were also reported injured in the landmine blast and shooting near the village of Dhankhola.

A police vehicle hit the mine and then came under rebel fire. Police fired back, and civilians were caught in the crossfire.

June 2004

Maoist rebels ambushed two police trucks in Banke district, killing at least 22 policemen and wounding 12. The attack took place on a highway in a forest area at Khairikhola, 450 km (280 miles).

Two other trucks carrying army personnel that were right behind the APF trucks however escaped the blast. According to police sources, hundreds of rebels surrounded the police convoy and fired from automatic weapons at the first truck. Soon after, there was a blast under the second truck. The trucks were carrying 37 policemen on their way to clear a roadblock put up by the Maoists in the area. The Maoists had opened fire at the security forces from nearby jungles and the both the sides traded fire for nearly an hour.

November 2003

Landmines have emerged as a major threat to civilians. Both the Royal Nepali Army and the Maoists are using mines or improvised explosive devices. The army to protect the perimeter of its garrisons and installations. The Maoists use wire-detonated pressure cookers packed with explosives to target passing military vehicles. New Maoist tactics: Blow up military vehicles on lonely roads and attack vulnerable personnel at security checkpoints. Many mountain roads to remote parts of Kabhre, Sindhupalchok and Dhading are blocked by Maoist landmines to limit the army's mobility. Of the 202 people who died in explosions last year, 52 were civilians and a quarter of the non-combatants killed were children.

November 2002

Dolakha: Maoists targeted local bus At least two civilians lost their lives and several others sustained injuries, when a passenger bus on its way to Kathmandu from Charikot, came under a landmine planted by Maoist rebels near a bridge at Lankuri Danda. The passengers injured by the landmine blast have been transported to to local hospital in Dolakha, about 20 kilometres away from the site of the explosion.

Police personnel recovered a pressure-cooker buried under the road and found a 500-metre long silk thread that extended towards the nearby hill top. Vehicular movement along the Lamosanghu-Jiri Highway was rendered ineffective for some time.