NEW DELHI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Indian police said on Tuesday they have arrested as many as 20 left-wing Naxalite rebels in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
"The Naxalites have been arrested from Chintagufa and Chintalnar in the state's Sukma district by a joint team of District Reserve Guards and a Special Task Force Monday evening," a senior police official said.
"These rebels were wanted in several cases of attacks on security forces in the state infested with Naxalites," he added.
Chhattisgarh is often hit by Naxalite violence. The left-wing rebels say they are fighting for land rights for tribal people and the rural poor. Their insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's 600-plus administrative districts.
Though major offensives by security forces in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and the levels of violence have fallen, but hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing hundreds of people, mostly security personnel, every year.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Naxalite insurgency as India's "greatest internal security threat."
