Nepali troops shot dead 22 Maoist rebels in gun battles across the west of the Himalayan country yesterday, as violence spiralled a day after 20 soldiers were killed by the guerillas. The surge in fighting between the Maoists and government troops came less than a month before a January 13 government deadline for the rebels to join peace talks. The insurgents, fighting since 1996 to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy and establish communist rule, have rejected the deadline. Analysts said the rebel attacks were aimed to pressure the government into talks on the rebels' terms. Seventeen guerillas were killed in a battle in Naumule village in the hilly Dailekh district, a rebel stronghold 600km west of the capital, Kathmandu, Colonel Naina Raj Dahal told Reuters from the area. "There were hundreds of rebels holed up in trenches and bunkers in the compound of the village school," Dahal said. "They used mortars, machineguns and automatic rifles to attack an army search party of about 150 soldiers." The fighting began on Wednesday afternoon and flared up again yesterday. Two soldiers were wounded, he said. Earlier on Thursday, at least five rebels were shot dead by soldiers in Lamjung district, about 150km west of Kathmandu, after the rebels stormed a security post at a telecommunications tower. "There are blood stains and marks of bodies being dragged by fleeing rebels," an army officer said. Four soldiers were wounded. The violence came as the government sent helicopters and reinforcements to hunt for rebels in Arghakhanchi district, 350km west of Kathmandu, where 20 soldiers were killed in an ambush on Wednesday. The attack was the worst for the army since June. Six Maoists were killed. The rebels oppose elections and have demanded an assembly be set up to draft a new constitution to decide the future of the monarchy. That has been rejected by the government. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Nepal's army. (AFP)