China sent arms to Nepal: report
Fri Nov 25, 2005
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - China sent truckloads of arms to Nepal this week to help its poorly-equipped army fight a violent Maoist revolt, a newspaper reported on Friday.
Nepal's traditional arms provider, India, along with the United States and Britain, have suspended supplies since King Gyanendra fired the government in February, withdrew civil liberties and took power.
The Kantipur daily said the weapons from China came on 18 trucks on Tuesday and Wednesday through a highway linking Nepal with Tibet, but did not say what these arms were.
Officials were not immediately available for comment.
Beijing, a key donor to aid-dependent Nepal, sent five combat vehicles in June, another newspaper reported at the time.
King Gyanendra, who said he was forced to sack the government to quell the nine-year Maoist revolt, has tried to reach out to China to end the country's international isolation.
More than 12,500 people have died since the Maoists launched their campaign in 1996 to oust the constitutional monarchy in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom.
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