Who are Maoist rebels?

The Naxalites, Naxals or Naksalvadis are a Maoist communist group in India, leaders of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency.

Map showing the districts where the Naxalite movement is active 

Their name comes from the village of Naxalbari in the Indian state of West Bengal where the movement originated, and the group are far-left radicalcommunists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leading to formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In recent years, it has spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

As of 2009, Naxalites are active across approximately 220 districts in twenty states of India accounting for about 40 percent of India's geographical area,They are especially concentrated in an area known as the "Red corridor", where they control 92,000 square kilometers. According to India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, 20,000 armed cadre Naxalites were operating apart from 50,000 regular cadres working in their various mass organizations and millions of sympathisers, and their growing influence prompted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare them as the most serious internal threat to India's national security.

The Naxalites are opposed by virtually all mainstream Indian political groups. In February 2009, Central government announced its plans for broad, co-ordinated operations in all affected states (Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal), to plug all possible escape routes of Naxalites.

Many dead' in India bus attack

Maoist rebels have attacked a bus in central India, officials say, with many people feared dead.

Reports say the bus was bombed in Chhattisgarh state's rebel stronghold of Dantewada district, and that police officers were among those on board.

Officials told the AFP news agency that at least 20 people had died; other reports gave much higher death tolls.

The rebels routinely target security forces, and thousands of people have died in their decades-long fight.

Reports said the bus was carrying both civilians and police as it travelled through Dantewada district.

The rebels are said to have detonated a landmine, destroying the front of the bus.

Local TV stations reported that as many as 50 people may have died in the attack.

Worst-hit areas

Earlier on Wednesday, the bodies of six villagers were found with their throats slit in the forests of Chhattisgarh.

Maoist rebels had kidnapped the six on the weekend, accusing them of spying for the government.

Dantewada is one of the areas worst affected by the insurgency.

Last month, the district was the scene of the worst attack the rebels have yet carried out when 75 police officers were killed.

The Maoists, also known as Naxalites, say they are fighting for the rights of rural poor who have been neglected by the government for decades.

The Maoist insurgency has been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country's biggest internal security threat.