Gurkhas assist Nepal arms removal

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6247577.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A team of Gurkhas who have recently retired have begun monitoring the decommissioning of weapons held by Maoist rebels in Nepal.

They will be assisting the United Nations until the world body can bring the full quotient of its own monitors to the country.

For nearly 200 years, Gurkhas have been recruited from the Nepalese hills to the British and Indian armies.

They have won international fame for their fighting skills.

And for them to be deployed in their country of origin is thought to be unprecedented.

The group of 111 recently-retired Gurkhas are all from the Indian army.

This is because they have to have retired less than three years ago and virtually all recent retirees from the British Army now live in Britain.

Notable agreement

After the November peace agreement which ended 10 years of civil conflict, both the Nepalese government and the Maoist rebels agreed that the Gurkhas - with their unique qualities and skills - should help with arms confinement until the UN has brought in all of its own monitors, which is still several weeks away.

That agreement was notable because in the past the Maoists have openly opposed the Gurkha tradition and worked for its abolition.

These Gurkha monitors have had brief training from a committee comprising the UN, the government and the Maoists.

Most will be working in the seven main Maoist camps, giving a constant presence at the sites where the arms are to be locked up from next week.