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Published 30 Nov, -0001 12:00am

Nepal rebels, Maoists to sign landmark peace agreement

"The government and the Maoists will definitely sign the accord on Thursday. There are no disagreements," Ramesh Lekhak, a government negotiator and the minister for labour told AFP late on Wednesday.
The two sides met for eight hours on Wednesday, but failed to produce the final draft of the document due to be signed on Thursday, the rebel spokesman said.
"There are no major differences between us and the government, but we still need to agree on certain things," Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the rebel spokesman told AFP.
"Thursday morning we will sit for more talks, and I am sure that we will sign," Mahara said.
The two sides have been observing cease-fires for over six months, and have reached a deal that will see the rebels enter the government in exchange for placing their People's Liberation Army and their weapons under United Nations supervision.
At least 12,500 people have been killed since the rebels launched their "people's war" in 1996.
This is the third time the two sides have tried to hammer out a peace deal in the impoverished Himalayan nation.
Two previous attempts in 2001 and 2003 failed, plunging the country back into conflict.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006

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