Total of 16,996 combatants take part in regrouping

Maoist Combatants of Nepal widely known as PLA

Daily Kathmandu

Kathmandu, Dec. 2: Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Special Committee on Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants, Balananda Sharma has said that a total of 16,996 Maoist combatants took part in the regrouping that completed in various cantonments across the country.

Speaking at a face-to-face organized by the Reporters' Club Nepal here on Friday, he said of the total 19,602 combatants verified by UNMIN, 16,996 took part in the regrouping.  Of the total, some 9,000 have chosen integration while 7,000 have opted for voluntary retirement and only six chose rehabilitation.

• Total Combatants:                    16,996
• Integration in Army:                  9,000
• Voluntary Retirement:              7,000
• Rehabilitation:                           06

 The regrouping was carried out at the cantonments in Chulachuli of Ilam, Dudhauli, Shaktikhor, Jhyalthungdanda, Dahaban, Dasarathpur and Talband.

Responding to a query on the occasion, Mr. Sharma said the time required to complete the integration process would depend on a political decision. However, he claimed that the process could be completed within six months if works were carried out on it with priority.

The Special Committee would take a decision if the actual number of combatants opting for integration is higher than the agreed 6,500 and those who fail to do so would again get an opportunity to choose between voluntary retirement and rehabilitation, he added.