ABSTRACT
Government figures list 268 civilians killed and 706 injured by the Maoists since June 2005; the Maoists have released a partial list of 116 civilians killed by the Salwa Judum till March 2006. For their part, the Maoists initially picked out individuals active in the Salwa Judum, but since February 2006, they have resorted to large scale 'counter-terror'. The Salwa Judum has burnt houses-nearly 2,000 according to a Maoist list-but this doesn't include villages like Arlempally in Konta tahsil, where the entire village is said to have smouldered for weeks. The Maoists claim to include 60 lakh people in the 'organisational sweep' of their Dandakaranya 'guerrilla zone', which is headed by a Special Zonal Committee. In keeping with their emphasis on militarism, the Maoists proudly list attacks on police stations, especially during 'retaliation week', the 'annihilation' of CRPF personnel, attacks on the NMDC explosives depot, and the killing of 'Salwa Judum goons'.
