More than 13,000 people have been killed by organised violence in Nepal since the insurgency began 10 years ago, many of them civilians caught in cross-fire between Maoists and security forces. Both sides in the conflict are frequently accused of carrying out human rights abuses. According to Human Rights Watch, Nepal has the largest number of disappearances in the world and a large number of victims of torture. The National Human Rights Commission documented 662 cases of disappearances between November 2000 and November 2003, most of them possibly killed by national security forces.
International Crisis Group reports national security forces have tortured prisoners and carried out extra-judicial executions and illegal detentions. On the other side, Maoists regularly executed and tortured Nepalese civilians, according to Human Rights Watch. The victims were usually suspected government informants, local political activists, local government officials and individuals who refused extortion demands from the Maoists.
The precise number of people uprooted by the war remains unknown. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates between 100,000 and 200,000 internally displaced. However, according to the United Nations, fighting has not always been the direct cause of people leaving their homes - lack of basic services and of work opportunities also forced civilians to move. Many drifted to urban centres, where they ended up living in slum conditions. Around 2 million are also said to have crossed the border to India in recent years. Analyst of the United Nation say some highland villages have lost up to 80 percent of their population, leaving only vulnerable groups behind.
As for children, 8,000 or more are said to have lost one or both parents since the start of the civil war. At least 375 children have been killed by government forces and Maoists guerrillas. UNICEF reported that children under 16 in rebel-controlled areas have been trained in guerrilla warfare - locals add that children as young as 14 or 15 were recruited into the frontline fighting force. According to UNICEF, the education system has been highly disturbed by Maoists killings and threatening of teachers and kidnapping of thousands of school children. The government's ability to deliver basic healthcare has been hindered and half of children under five are underweight, according to the U.N. Development Programme.