Maoists kidnap 500 students in Nepal

The army said the pupils were taken in Palpa, Tanahun and Baglung districts.

The Maoists regularly abduct school children in remote areas for indoctrination or to boost numbers in pro-Maoist rallies. The children are generally returned after a few days unharmed.

Violence has continued in the Himalayan kingdom since King Gyanendra seized power on Feb. 1. The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow the Hindu monarchy and set up a single party communist republic. Nearly 12,000 have died in the conflict so far.

Four foreign aid organisations have suspended operations in a remote district of western Nepal after local staff members were beaten by rebels.

The World Food Programme, Britain's Department for Interna-tional Development, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Dutch aid agency SNV said in a statement some of its workers were attacked in Sukatiya village, a Maoist stronghold 600 km west of Kathmandu.

Rebels forced a woman at the project to dig her own grave, the statement said, without providing further details about the incident.

"We regret this deeply, but cannot put our staff at further risk," the donors said in a statement.

"It is clear that this action seriously contravenes the BOGs (basic operating guidelines) which are the basis for these donors' engagements in Nepal."

The suspension will hit 6,000 villagers who work on the project in Nepal, one of the world's 10 poorest countries, which gets $400 million, or about 30 percent of its annual budget, in international aid.

There was no immediate response from the government and the rebels, who normally operate in remote areas, could not be reached for comment.

It said projects run by groups from Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Finland, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Canada would be suspended in the district one of the hardest hit by the insurgency. Residents in the area rely heavily on foreign donors.

The guerrillas have stepped up violence since Feb. 1, when King Gyanendra took control of the government claiming it was necessary in part to end the civil war, which has killed more than 11,500.

In the past, rebels have regularly demanded money from aid agencies, forcing them to scale back projects as well as staff in rural areas.