Nepal Maoists leave camps for food, UN concerned

KATHMANDU, Feb 21 (Reuters) Hundreds of Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas today fled government camps they were housed in under a peace deal, saying they were going in search of work as they were not being fed adequately there.

Maoist commander Baldev said the move would not derail the peace process with the government, and the men would ''return once proper arrangements for their living are made''.

''Our PLA fighters are not beggars,'' he told Reuters, referring to the People's Liberation Army, as the guerrilla force was called.

''They will seek work in villages or nearby towns, earn for their food and live among the people.'' More than 500 Maoists left a camp in Chitwan in the southern plains and more could follow, said Baldev, who uses one name.

Thousands of former guerrillas are housed in 28 camps across the Himalayan nation under the November peace deal and have stored their arms under UN supervision.

Under the peace agreement, the government is supposed to meet the cost of maintaining the camps, and authorities say they had already provided million to the Maoists.

But Baldev said the money was not enough for the 35,000-strong force.

The United Nations said it was concerned by the move and called it a ''breach'' of the arms-monitoring agreement between the government, the Maoists and the world body.

''Maoist commanders are obliged to ensure that combatants under their command return to the cantonment site without delay,'' Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN mission in Nepal, said in a statement.

CHILDREN SUFFERING A separate UN report issued in Kathmandu today accused both the former rebels and the army of ''grossly violating'' child rights during the conflict, and said many were still suffering.

Under the peace accord, both sides are supposed to ensure children are reunited with their families, but the United Nations said few had returned so far.

''Millions ... are still suffering from the impact of the conflict. Their young lives bear the scars of injury, trauma, increased poverty and disrupted education,'' the report said.

Matthew Kahane, the UN resident coordinator in Nepal, said children had been killed, tortured and abducted, as well as used as spies or in combat roles.

The former rebels have been accused of recruiting children since the ceasefire, but the Maoists as well as the army deny they used children in the conflict.

The UN criticism came as Nepal's interim parliament, which includes the Maoists, sought action against King Gyanendra for his controversial statement this week defending his 2005 power grab.

It was not immediately clear what action the humbled king, who stepped down after weeks of violent protests last year, would face.

REUTERS AB RN2210