Maoist rebels free Italian hostage
Reuters
2012-04-12
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Indian Maoist rebels freed an Italian tour guide on Thursday (April 12), almost a month after kidnapping him in a remote part of the state of Orissa in what was believed to be the first seizure of a foreigner by the leftist guerrillas.
Also known as Naxals, the rebels have fought for decades in a swathe of central and eastern India, including many resource-rich regions, where tension runs high between poor farmers and industrial developers.
In response to rebel demands, the authorities freed a Maoist leader's wife from prison and promised to facilitate the release of several imprisoned rebels and their supporters.
India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, calls the Maoists India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to higher growth and more jobs in Asia's third-largest economy.
Hundreds of people are killed every year in the conflict, although levels of violence have fallen in recent years.
Indian Maoist rebels freed an Italian tour guide on Thursday (April 12), almost a month after kidnapping him in a remote part of the state of Orissa in what was believed to be the first seizure of a foreigner by the leftist guerrillas.
Also known as Naxals, the rebels have fought for decades in a swathe of central and eastern India, including many resource-rich regions, where tension runs high between poor farmers and industrial developers.
In response to rebel demands, the authorities freed a Maoist leader's wife from prison and promised to facilitate the release of several imprisoned rebels and their supporters.
India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, calls the Maoists India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to higher growth and more jobs in Asia's third-largest economy.
Hundreds of people are killed every year in the conflict, although levels of violence have fallen in recent years.
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