Nepali Maoists extend truce to boost peace

The Maoists had declared a three-month ceasefire in April, after weeks of street protests forced King Gyanendra to cede power to a multi-party government.

It was extended in July by another three months and is due to expire at midnight (1815 GMT).

"There is no question of breaking it now. We'll extend it. A formal announcement will be made later today (Sunday)," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told Reuters.

The multi-party government and Maoists began talks in May aimed at ending a decade-old conflict in which more than 13,000 people have died.

"Our talks are going on positively. If there is a consensus with the government we are in favour of signing a formal ceasefire agreement," Mahara said. "For the present the existing truce will be extended."

Mahara's comments came hours after rebel chief Prachanda had an informal meeting with Premier Girija Prasad Koirala to try and narrow differences before the rebels join an interim government as part of a power sharing pact.

Under the deal, the interim government will supervise elections for an assembly that will decide the fate of Nepal's monarchy.

But differences over how to manage the rebels' weapons as well as handling the status of the king during the run-up to the polls had dogged dialogue between the two parties over the past six months.

The Maoists have been fighting to set up a communist republic in the impoverished Himalayan nation since 1996, but now say they will honour the outcome of the elections and accept the political future mapped out by the new assembly.

Earlier Nepal's government and Maoist rebels said they were hopeful of striking a deal to bring the insurgents into government and end a 10-year revolt in upcoming talks.

Discussions between Nepal's government and Maoists were postponed last weekend amid wrangling over how to move the political process forward.

But since then both sides have reported progress in informal discussions.

"We're hopeful the upcoming talks will finalize all pending issues as we're engaged in informal talks with the rebels to narrow down differences," Ramesh Lekhak, a member of the government negotiating team, told AFP on Friday.

His view was echoed by the Maoists.

"We're expecting the upcoming talks to be productive and historic. During our informal talks, we've found the seven-party ruling alliance more sincere in seeking to resolve the political deadlock," said rebel negotiator Dev Gurung.

The minister said that the next date for talks would be soon announced by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

The two sides have already agreed to hold elections by mid-2007 for a body that will rewrite the constitution and decide on whether the monarchy can stay.

But they remain at odds over what to do with rebel weapons.