India Grapples with Rising Maoist Violence, Fueled by Pandemic
Voice of America
India's Home Minister Amit Shah cut short an election rally in the east on Monday to head to the mineral-rich central state of Chhattisgarh, where Maoist guerillas at the weekend killed 22 security force members, officials said.
In addition to the fatalities, 30 other members of the Indian police and paramilitary forces were wounded in a four-hour gun battle with Maoist rebels on Saturday, the deadliest ambush of its kind in four years. On Monday, Shah travelled to Chhattisgarh to meet the injured pay tribute to those killed. Also known as Naxals, the Maoists have waged an armed insurgency against the government for decades. Their leaders say they are fighting on behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited from the economic boom in Asia's third-largest economy.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.