NEW DELHI, Feb 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - At least 31 Maoist rebels and two Indian 
commandos were killed in a gunfight in the dense jungles of central India 
Sunday, as security forces ramp up efforts to crush the long-running 
insurgency.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long insurgency waged 
by the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised 
Indigenous people.

"31 rebels and two security personnel are dead and two other security 
personnel are injured," senior police officer Sundarraj P. told AFP.

The official said the toll could be even higher as the police continue to 
carry out search operations in the area.

"Additional forces have been rushed to the encounter site," he said.

Police have recovered automatic weapons and grenade launchers from the scene, 
a police statement said.

The gunfight broke in the forested areas of Bijapur district in the state of 
Chhattisgarh, considered the heartland of the insurgency.

"This is a big success in the direction of achieving a Naxal-free India," 
said Amit Shah, India's home minister, who last year said the government 
expected to crush the rebellion by 2026.

A crackdown by security forces has killed some 287 rebels in the past year, 
an overwhelming majority in Chhattisgarh, according to government data.

The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region's immense natural 
resources for local residents.

They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India's east and 
south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s.

New Delhi then deployed tens of thousands of troops in a stretch of territory 
known as the "Red Corridor".

The conflict has also seen a number of deadly attacks on government forces. A 
roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops last month.