The government and Maoists are now not just exchanging letters, they are also exchanging fire again. There has been a dramatic spurt in clashes since Prachanda agreed to resume talks last week. But while they reiterate their commitment to talks, they have also been ambushing army vehicles and killing police with sniper fire. In the most-serious incident so far, three soldiers were killed in a landmine blast in Panchthar on Tuesday. The human rights group INSEC says 46 people have been killed since the ceasefire announcement six months ago when both sides were supposed to be following the code of conduct. The breakdown of the figures show the Maoists killed 26 people, while the security forces took 20 lives. Within this period, INSEC says the security forces detained 48, while the Maoists abducted 32.