HYDERABAD, India, March 26 (Reuters) - Indian Maoists threatened on Monday to stage more attacks if an anti-rebel civil movement was not abandoned, 11 days after they killed 55 police and tribal militia in the central state of Chhattisgarh. Hundreds of armed rebels stormed a police camp in the state's southern forests on March 15, killing police and members of a tribal militia. A two-page statement signed by "Azad", a Maoist spokesman, called the attack a "heroic and tactical counter-offensive by the Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army against state-sponsored reign of terror". The statement threatened "bigger" attacks if the Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace) movement was not stopped. The government-backed movement has recruited tribespeople as police informers and pushed tens of thousands out of their villages and into camps in an ostensible attempt to defend them from the Maoists. "The guerrillas assisted by the Bhoomkal militia will take up attacks on bigger scale if the Salwa Judum campaign is not withdrawn," the statement said. Bhoomkal means "land army" in a local tribal language and is the name of a Maoist unit. The central state of Chhattisgarh is the worst-hit among 13 of India's 29 states where the Maoists have a presence. The armed movement began four decades ago and claims to fight for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers. Thousands have died in the conflict. The attack on the police camp was among the deadliest in decades. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last year the Maoist revolt was the biggest internal security challenge facing India since independence in 1947. The rebel spokesman appealed to young tribal members of the Salwa Judum to realise that the government was pitting them against their own tribespeople. He also urged federal security forces to leave Chhattisgarh or "face the consequences". Police in Andhra Pradesh state, of which Hyderabad is the capital, said on Sunday a Maoist leader and three colleagues had surrendered. Maoists said the group had given themselves up because of failing health.
