India security forces kill 28 Maoist rebels in firefight

NEW DELHI: Indian security forces shot dead at least 28 Maoist rebels on Friday during a firefight, days after the country´s home minister warned the insurgents to surrender or face “all-out” assault.

More than 10,000 people have died in a decades-long insurgency waged by the Naxalite movement in India´s resource-rich tribal heartlands.

The insurgency has drastically shrunk in recent years and a crackdown by security forces has killed at least 190 rebels this year, according to government data.

Friday´s gunfight took place in the central state of Chhattisgarh, the heartland of the rebel movement, which claims to be fighting on behalf of downtrodden rural and tribal communities.

“Total 28 Maoist dead bodies have been recovered,” Bastar region police chief P. Sunarraj told AFP.

Narayanpur district police superintendent Prabhat Kumar told AFP that one member of the Indian security forces had a “minor injury”, was evacuated by helicopter and was now safe.

The battle occurred in Abujhmad forest, a remote and sparsely inhabited area of southern Chhattisgarh.

Kumar said the joint operation between police and other branches of India´s security forces was still ongoing.