KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli, who is the chairman of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), did not attend the tribute ceremony organized to mark the 25th  ‘People’s War’ Day in commemoration of the martyrs killed during the decade-long Maoist insurgency on Thursday.

Earlier, the notice issued by the NCP Central Office, Dhumbarahi informed that both chairpersons Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal were participating in the event.

“PM Oli did not go to Dhumbarahi to attend the event organized on the occasion of ‘People’s War’ Day due to his health issues,” one of Oli’s aides told Khabarhub.

The tribute assembly was organized in commemoration of the martyrs killed during the decade-long Maoist insurgency at Dhumbarahi at 9 am.

The then CPN (Maoist) had launched the insurgency on February 13, 1996 (Falgun 1, 2052 BS) and the armed conflict continued for 10 years until the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed in November, 2006.

Over 17,000 people were killed during the armed insurgency and the whereabouts of as many as 1,500 others is still unknown.