The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) is one of the largest and most potent Communist insurgent groups in the world.  In little over a decade, the CPN-M has been responsible for hundreds of attacks on government and civilian targets. <P><br />Although Nepal had been an absolute monarchy for many years, mass demonstrations in 1990 forced then-King Birendra to institute a constitutional monarchy and revoke an earlier ban on political parties.  In short order a new constitution was drawn up and parliamentary elections were scheduled.  Among over 20 parties on the ballot, the United People's Front (UPF), an umbrella party of the left, ran in the 1991 general elections. However, the UPF's Maoist wing (the CPN-M) performed extremely poorly, and was excluded from the next election in 1994. <P><br />With no outlet in electoral politics, the Maoists turned to insurgency to reach their goal of overthrowing Nepal's parliamentary democracy and transforming Nepalese society. Such a "transformation" would likely include a purge of the nation's elite class, a state takeover of private industry, and the collectivization of agriculture. <P><br />The CPN-M's strategy and tactics are based on traditional Maoist guerilla war principles. As part of its struggle against the current regime, the Maoists have targeted Nepalese parliamentarians, the Prime Minister, government ministries, and a number of educational institutions. International targets have occasionally been hit as well, largely in an effort to isolate the government. Two US embassy guards were assassinated by the Maoists in 2002, allegedly for anti-Maoist spying activities. Further attacks against diplomatic targets have been threatened in CPN-M press releases. Foreign commercial targets are also fair game for the Maoists, as they demonstrated in three attacks on Coca-Cola facilities and one attack on a Pepsi-Cola truck.  <P><br />Despite a massive effort from the Royal Nepalese Army (at the behest of current King Gyanendra) to crackdown on the CPN-M, the group enjoys widespread support and is believed to control an estimated 70% of the Nepalese countryside.  The CPN-M have an estimated strength of 10,000-20,000 armed cadres with an arsenal that has increased in both size and sophistication in recent years.  In addition to receiving funds and support from expatriate Nepalese living in India, the group funds its operations through extortion, "taxation", and bank robberies.  The group maintains bases in India as well as Nepal and enjoys support from many Indian insurgent groups, most notably the United Liberation Front of Assam and the Communist Party of India-Maoist.  <br />