Maoists do not control any areas of Nepal

"There is no such thing as a Maoist stronghold area or their headquarters anywhere in the country as the security forces are able to get anywhere within the kingdom," chief of Royal Nepal Army Mid-west Division Major General Dipak Bikram Rana said. "Our security forces can get anywhere in the kingdom anytime, it depends on our choice where we want to go," Rana told AFP.

"The rumours created by the rebels that they have headquarters or their stronghold areas or bastions anywhere in the country is misleading or totally false," he said.

Local newspapers reported Monday that government forces had seized a Maoist headquarters at Thawang, in Rolpa district, 350km west of the capital.

Thawang had been under total army control since Friday, The Himalayan Times said.

The Maoists pulled out ahead of an army advance on Thursday night, leaving behind only men aged over 60, and children, the daily said, adding that many villagers had long since left seeking employment.

The reports came after journalists visited Thawang and described it as out of bounds for ground troops and firmly administered by the Maoists who are fighting to overthrown the king and set up a republic.

"Our forces are in Thawang right now in the so-called rebel stronghold area," Rana said.

"Our security forces are at the place where the rebels say they have their so-called office or headquarters," he said.

The Maoists, who usually avoid major battles with the military, could not be reached for immediate comment on the reported fall of Thawang.

The army statement came as India said it would resume military aid to Nepal unconditionally.

New Delhi had previously demanded that King Gyanendra first restore democracy. He seized total power on February 1 saying the government had failed to tackle the rebellion and organise fresh elections.

Meanwhile, 11 people, including five children and a rebel, died in insurgent violence in western and southwestern Nepal over the weekend, security sources said.

"Three Nepali Congress party activists and a father and son were killed by rebels in Marchawar area, Rupandehi district, southwest of Kathmandu on Saturday night, the source said.

"Five children were killed in Dhalsingh area in Rolpa (west) when a bomb left behind by the rebels went off Sunday morning," the source added. "Three children were injured in another explosion at Muru village in Rukum district, (west)."

More than 11,200 people have died since the Maoists launched their uprising in 1996.

Maoist rebels bombed three schools in western Nepal over the weekend, wounding five students in the latest in a spate of attacks aimed at pressuring educational institutions to close, police said Sunday.

Two students were wounded Sunday morning when a bomb exploded at a secondary school, a day after three students were hurt by a bomb blast at another school.

A third school was bombed Friday in southwest Nepal, police said, causing several thousand dollars in damage, police said.