Deuba seeks to win over coalition partners

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba gave Works Minister Prakash Man Singh the task of winning coalition allies' backing for general elections in Nepal, racked by an increasingly brutal and bloody Maoist insurgency, a cabinet official said.

"The prime minister is trying to make other coalition partners agree to the polls," the official, who wished to remain unnamed, said.

But analysts said such a course would lead to more violence unless the government first holds negotiations with the rebels battling to overthrow the monarchy of the Himalayan nation.

Nepal's stability is of increasing worry to giant neighbour India, which has been arming the Nepali army to help it combat the Maoists.

"We're already heading dangerously towards the brink," said Akhilesh Upadhyay, editor of the English-language news magazine The Nation Weekly.

"Talks are the only solution."

Late Friday, the government boosted security spending by nine percent in a bid to crush the revolt in the poverty-stricken nation which has claimed over 11,000 lives since 1996.

It hiked security spending by 18.8 million dollars, adding to the 221 million dollars already earmarked for the anti-rebel offensive in the financial year that began last July. But analysts were doubtful the fight against the rebels could be won on the battlefield.

"No matter how much the defence budget goes up, the fact is the two sides must sit down to talk to solve the insurgency," said Upadhyay. "There can be no military solution."

Right now Nepal's vastly overstretched security forces are present in just 22 of the country's 75 districts, an army official said. Rebels say they control 65 percent of Nepal, a statement the government rejects.