KATHMANDU, Aug 24 (AFP) - Maoist rebels said they would withdraw a week-old blockade around Nepal's capital Kathmandu from Wednesday for at least a month as they wait for the government to meet their demands.
"On the call of different sectors including civil society and human rights groups, we announce a withdrawal of the blockade from tomorrow (Wednesday) for about a month," a joint statement by six Maoist leaders said late Tuesday.
"If the government ignores our demands, we will launch protests and blockades more serious than the present ones," it said.
The blockade was launched last Wednesday and enforced through fear but little physical intimidation.
Analysts say the Maoists, who are fighting to turn the world's only Hindu kingdom into a secular communist state, called the blockade to add to pressure for peace talks on their terms.
The rebels have also demanded the government stop describing them as terrorists -- a label which has kept guerrilla leaders in hiding.
The government has made no commitment to withdraw the classification but agreed to another demand by launching a probe into the whereabouts of an unspecified number of Maoists the rebels say have gone missing.
The Maoist statement came after a day of bloodshed in which at least five soldiers were killed in a Maoist ambush near the Tibetan border where the rebels have planned a separate blockade from Saturday.
The rebels claimed to have killed another 24 soldiers in the incident, although the army said the missing soldiers had jumped into a river for safety.
The Maoist statement, which was signed by rebel leaders for districts in the Kathmandu area, gave no details about whether the northern border blockade was still planned.