BHIMPUR, India (AFP) — Soldiers have moved to crush an uprising by suspected Maoist guerrillas in the Indian state of West Bengal, after the rebels took control of villages and attacked local officials.
About 1,800 state and federal troops have been deployed to quell the rebellion that began on Sunday when Maoists and tribal villagers went on the rampage against the region's ruling communists.
Police say 10 communist party activists have been killed, while police camps and party offices have also been burnt down.
Witnesses reported Maoist rebels fired on security forces who attempted to push their way into the insurgent stronghold of Lalgarh, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the state capital Kolkata in eastern India.
Militants on Friday blew up a bridge in the nearby village of Bhimpur to ward off approaching troops, officials said, and villagers blocked all entry points into Lalgarh.
"We hope security forces will enter Lalgarh in a few hours," said police inspector general Raj Kanojia.
"More paramilitary troopers and policemen have been requisitioned."
Federal Home Minister P. Chidambaram said soldiers should "expect the unexpected" as they try to restore calm, and he stressed that Maoists, not local residents, were the security forces' target.
"The operation is to establish civil authority and re-open police stations," he said, warning that anti-insurgency operations could spread to neighbouring districts.
Officials said a dozen villagers had been arrested for throwing stones and opening fire on security forces, and soldiers used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse angry crowds.
The Maoist insurgency, which grew out of a peasant uprising in 1967, has hit more than half of India's 29 states. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribespeople and landless farmers.
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