KATHMANDU, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government Wednesday evening announced an indefinite cease-fire and removed the "terrorist" tag and Red Corner Notice on the anti-government guerrillas, senior government official said.

    "The government also appeals to the guerrillas' leadership to come for peace talks with the government," KP Sharma Oli, deputy prime minister, told reporters.

    The seven-member Council of Ministers, or the cabinet, took this decision at the formal meeting in Kathmandu Wednesday, Oli said immediately after the meeting.

    The government announced to reciprocate the cease-fire announced by the guerrillas a week ago. The guerrillas declared a three-month cease-fire on April 27, after the Nepali King Gyanendra relinquished power and reinstated parliament.

    This is the third time that both the guerrillas and the government have declared a truce.

    The then government headed by Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa had re-issued the Red Corner notice and terrorist tag after the breakdown of the second round of peace talks with the guerrillas in August 2003.

    Over 13,000 people have been killed since the anti-government insurgency took place in the Himalayan kingdom in February 1996.

    Meanwhile, the government also decided to dissolve the local municipalities constituted after the municipal elections held in February this year and withdraw the nominations in other local bodies.

    The government also canceled the appointment of regional and zonal administers, senior local government officials, appointed by the previous government in five development regions and 14 zones through out the country. Enditem