Indian police report 14 Maoist rebels killed in two separate clashes in Chhattisgarh, part of a government crackdown on the long-running insurgency.
RAIPUR: Indian security forces killed 14 Maoist rebel fighters in two separate clashes on Saturday.
Police said the clashes occurred in the early hours in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
The encounters took place in the districts of Sukma and Bijapur, according to a Chhattisgarh Police statement.
Ammunition and assault rifles were seized from the rebels.
The government has been intensifying efforts to quash the decades-long Naxalite insurgency.
Authorities have repeatedly vowed to completely finish the insurgency by the end of March.
The rebellion, which began nearly six decades ago, claims to fight for the rights of marginalised indigenous people.
More than 10,000 people have died in the long-running conflict.
The insurgency once held sway across nearly a third of the country.
It had an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s.
The movement has been dramatically weakened in recent years.
India’s security forces say a swathe of the top leadership has been killed.
Government figures state more than 500 Maoist rebels have been killed in Chhattisgarh since 2024.
