At least 50 Maoist rebels and seven policemen were killed in Nepal during one of the biggest clashes since a seven-month ceasefire ended six weeks ago. Police said Saturday at least 600 rebels attacked a police post late Friday in the village of Khas-Kusum in the western Banke district, 415 kilometres (257 miles) from Kathmandu, with the fierce fighting continuing until Saturday morning. "The bodies of 50 rebels have been recovered but many others were carried away by the insurgents themselves," a senior police officer in Banke said by telephone. "Many policemen injured in the clash were flown into Kathmandu for treatment," he added, without giving an exact figure. Local witnesses said some dead and injured rebels were carried away on dokos -- big bamboo baskets -- by other guerrillas, according to their customs. A number of injured rebels were in security force custody. The casualty figures were impossible to verify independently in the remote area. As armed police reinforcements reached the site, the guerrillas fled into the nearby jungles, the police said. Security forces recovered weapons, tents, sleeping bags, foodstuffs and medicines from the clash site, which police said was now under army control. Khas-Kusum is close to the southwestern town of Nepalgunj, known to be a rebel stronghold. In August a third round of peace talks between the rebels and the government was held in Nepalgunj, but they broke down when the government refused to call a special assembly to redraft the constitution. A few days later the guerrillas announced they were pulling out of the talks and the ceasefire which had held since January. In September, in the biggest clash after the truce broke down, the army said some 62 rebels had died when they raided a hideout in the western Rolpa district. The Maoists, who want to abolish the monarchy and make the Hindu kingdom a secular republic, had called a temporary eight-day truce which ended Thursday to mark the Hindu kingdom's biggest festival Dasain, celebrating the victory of the goddess Durga over the forces of evil. But minor skirmishes had continued, with around 16 rebels and security force personnel dying in the past week. In a message marking Dasain, King Gyanendra called Sunday for an end to the seven-year insurgency and said all sides wanted peace. "As long as there is an atmosphere of recrimination and mistrust, the problems facing the country cannot be resolved," his message said. More than 8,100 people have died in the Maoist insurgency since 1996, government figures show. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Nepalese soldiers patrol Kathmandu during a recent strike called by the Maoists. (AFP/File)