Villages in Khotang district have been having sleepless nights after the emergency was declared on 26 November. The Maoists who fled Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga districts after the security forces intensified their activities there have been creating havoc in Khotang. The villagers are caught between the crossfire from three sides-the Maoists, the security forces and the activists of the Khumbuwan Mukti Morcha (Khumbuwan Liberation Movement) in the south of the district. According to a member of the District Development Committee, about nine public employees have been jailed so far, but even now security forces have been unable to go into the villages, forcing villagers to flee to the plains or Kathmandu. According to a teacher who did not want to be named, even the Chief District Officer has been moving between Kathmandu and the plains and has told teachers that he is unable to provide them with any kind of security. Teachers who have tried to buy safety by giving donations to the Maoists or the KMM, are now being taken in for questioning by the security forces.