Indian commandos shot dead eight Maoist rebels in eastern India on Monday, police said, as security forces ramp up efforts to crush the long-running conflict.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long insurgency waged by the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised groups.

The latest gunfight broke out early on Monday in the forested areas of Bokaro district in the mineral-rich state of Jharkhand.

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“A gunfight broke out early morning in which eight Maoists have been killed,” senior police officer Surendra Kumar Jha told AFP.

Several automatic weapons and explosives were recovered from the rebels, he added.

A crackdown by security forces has killed more than 400 fighters in the past year, an overwhelming majority in the state of Chhattisgarh, according to government data.

Amit Shah, India’s home minister, said last year that the government expected to crush the rebellion by early 2026.

The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for local residents.

They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s.

New Delhi then deployed tens of thousands of troops in a stretch of territory known as the “Red Corridor”.

The conflict has also seen a number of deadly attacks on government forces. A roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops in January.

AFP