Nepal's rebels signed an accord with the government on surrendering their weapons, completing another step in the peace process aimed at ending a decade-long civil war in the Himalayan kingdom.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will lock up its arms under United Nations supervision at 28 camps across the country, Nepalnews.com reported, citing the agreement signed in the capital, Kathmandu, late yesterday.
The accord ``sends a very positive signal about the momentum of the peace process in Nepal,'' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York yesterday, according to a statement on the UN Web site.
The rebels fought to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a communist republic. The insurgency killed 13,000 people and sapped the economy of the nation, where about 40 percent of the population of 27 million lives below the poverty line. The Maoists and government signed a peace accord on Nov. 21 and aim to form and interim government on Dec. 1.
The rebels will be allowed to keep 30 weapons for security in each of the seven main camps, and 15 arms in the 21 satellite cantonments, the report said. They will also be allowed to carry out light military drills, Nepalnews.com said.
During peace talks, the rebels revealed that their People's Liberation Army had about 35,000 fighters. Any combatants aged 18 and above and recruited before the May cease-fire must remain in the camps, the report said. Up to 12 percent of the rebel army will be allowed to take leave at a time.
Integrated Army
The two sides have reached an agreement on integrating the PLA into the Nepalese army, Nepalnews.com said, without providing further details.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has written to the Security Council asking it to provide monitors for the arms agreement and to assist elections in June 2007, Dujarric said. The elections are for an assembly that will draw up a new constitution.
The insurgency has sapped Nepal's economic growth, which is forecast to shrink to 1.8 percent this year. The kingdom, located between India and China, is one of the world's poorest countries.
Under the agreement, the fate of the monarchy will be decided at the first meeting of the constituent assembly next year. The Maoists say the institution must be abolished. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala favors King Gyanendra remaining as a figurehead with a ceremonial role.
Gyanendra, who was forced in April to restore parliament after 14 months of autocratic rule, has already been stripped of much of his power. He is no longer head of the army, his income and assets are taxable and a resolution passed unanimously by lawmakers in May turned Nepal, once the world's only Hindu kingdom, into a secular state.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will lock up its arms under United Nations supervision at 28 camps across the country, Nepalnews.com reported, citing the agreement signed in the capital, Kathmandu, late yesterday.
The accord ``sends a very positive signal about the momentum of the peace process in Nepal,'' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York yesterday, according to a statement on the UN Web site.
The rebels fought to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a communist republic. The insurgency killed 13,000 people and sapped the economy of the nation, where about 40 percent of the population of 27 million lives below the poverty line. The Maoists and government signed a peace accord on Nov. 21 and aim to form and interim government on Dec. 1.
The rebels will be allowed to keep 30 weapons for security in each of the seven main camps, and 15 arms in the 21 satellite cantonments, the report said. They will also be allowed to carry out light military drills, Nepalnews.com said.
During peace talks, the rebels revealed that their People's Liberation Army had about 35,000 fighters. Any combatants aged 18 and above and recruited before the May cease-fire must remain in the camps, the report said. Up to 12 percent of the rebel army will be allowed to take leave at a time.
Integrated Army
The two sides have reached an agreement on integrating the PLA into the Nepalese army, Nepalnews.com said, without providing further details.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has written to the Security Council asking it to provide monitors for the arms agreement and to assist elections in June 2007, Dujarric said. The elections are for an assembly that will draw up a new constitution.
The insurgency has sapped Nepal's economic growth, which is forecast to shrink to 1.8 percent this year. The kingdom, located between India and China, is one of the world's poorest countries.
Under the agreement, the fate of the monarchy will be decided at the first meeting of the constituent assembly next year. The Maoists say the institution must be abolished. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala favors King Gyanendra remaining as a figurehead with a ceremonial role.
Gyanendra, who was forced in April to restore parliament after 14 months of autocratic rule, has already been stripped of much of his power. He is no longer head of the army, his income and assets are taxable and a resolution passed unanimously by lawmakers in May turned Nepal, once the world's only Hindu kingdom, into a secular state.
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