Nepal declares truce

"There will be no military action by the state (in the southwestern Lumbini area) during the World Buddhist Conference," Culture Minister Dip Kumar Upadhyay told reporters.

There was no immediate statement from Maoist rebels, battling to topple the monarchy and install commmuist rule, about whether they would also refrain from attacks in the area during the meeting starting November 30.

The conference is due to be inaugurated by King Gyanendra and attended by scholars, monks and dignitaries from at least 40 countries, organisers say.

Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, which has been named a World Heritage site by Unesco.

One of the main aims of the conference is to develop Lumbini as the "city of world peace" as well as draw more tourists to Buddha's birthplace and other holy sites in the mostly Hindu nation, organisers say.

Upadhyay also renewed an appeal for the Maoists to return to the negotiating table to settle the increasingly deadly conflict that has claimed over 10,000 lives since 1996.

"If Maoists take one step for a peace dialogue, we'll take four steps to help restore peace," Upadhyay said.

Earlier thousands of Nepalese villagers crying "We want peace!" demonstrated in the country's remote northwest to demand greater protection from Maoist rebels, government officials said Tuesday.

Ignoring fears of rebel reprisals, residents of 13 villages in the Dailekh district staged the rally Monday to urge authorities to set up security posts to protect them from the rebels, officials said.

The villagers demonstrated as Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khatka visited the guerrilla-infested area to take stock of the security situation.

Protests against the Maoists are rare as participants fear retaliation by the guerrillas, according to human rights activists who accuse both sides of atrocities.