Police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Friday said security forces had shot dead 28 suspected Maoist rebels in a gun fight.

The battle came days after the country's interior minister warned the insurgents to surrender or face "all-out" assault.

Police had been conducting a search on the border of the Narayanpur and Dantewada districts when the fighting broke out in Abujhmad forest, a remote and sparsely populated area.

A member of the Indian security forces sustained a "minor injury" in the battle, the AFP news agency reported citing  Narayanpur district police chief Prabhat Kumar.

He told the agency that the joint operation involved police and other branches of India's security forces, and that it remained ongoing.

Government plans to end the insurgency by 2026

The clash is just the latest in the long-running conflict between the government forces and the Maoist militants, as New Delhi escalates its campaign against the rebellion that started nearly 60 years ago.

Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah met citizens of Chhattisgarh last month and warned the insurgents to surrender or face dire consequences.

"Lay down the weapons," he said at the time. "If not, we will launch an all-out campaign and get success."

The minister said India expected the Naxalite rebellion to be completely extinguished by early 2026.

Who are the Maoists?

The central state of Chhattisgarh is the rebel movement's heartland. The insurgents, known as Naxalites, claim to be fighting on behalf of oppressed rural and tribal communities.

The rebels follow a form of communism espoused by the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. They have mounted a guerrilla-style offensive against government forces, particularly in central and eastern India, for many decades.

More than 10,000 people have died in the conflicts waged by the Naxalites in the resource-rich tribal region.

The insurgents killed 22 police and paramilitaries in a gun battle in 2021. In the western state of Maharashtra, 16 commandos were killed in a bomb blamed on the Maoists in the lead-up to national elections in 2019.

India has sent tens of thousands of security personnel to fight the insurgents across the Maoist-dominated "Red Corridor."

According to government data, a crackdown by security forces has killed at least 190 rebels this year. 

The area dominated by rebels has also dramatically shrunk in size in recent years — from 96 districts in 2010 to 45 districts in 2023, according to the government.

rc/dj (AFP, Reuters)