Image copyright AFP Image caption A large number of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are deployed in Chhattisgarh to counter the Maoist rebels (file photo)

Suspected Maoists have killed 24 policemen in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in one of the biggest attacks by the rebels in recent years. According to police superintendent Jitendra Shukla, around 70 members of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were patrolling a road construction project in Chhattisgarh state's Sukma district when they were ambushed. Singh could not confirm reports in local media that at least six commandos had been critically injured and were being airlifted to safety. CNNNews18 television quoted a paramilitary soldier as saying that hundreds of rebels attacked members of the Central Reserve Police Force and there was an exchange of gunfire between the two sides. Last month 11 paramilitary policemen were killed when their convoy was ambushed in Chhattisgarh, while at least 20 troops died in a separate attack in 2015. The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion. The decades-long insurgency is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the insurgent-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India. Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region.
Suspected Maoist insurgents kill at least 24 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, India.