Maoists attack police in India

Maoist rebels have killed 49 people in an attack on a police camp in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, according to reports.

About 300 to 400 rebels attacked the camp amid concerns that Maoists are stretching their influence across rural parts of India along its southern tip.

Ajai Sahni, an executive director at the Institute for Conflict Management, was quoted by Reuters as saying: "This period has been a period of planning and of consolidation and you will now see the consequences.

"You can expect a fairly abrupt escalation of violence over coming weeks and months."

India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, reportedly said the Maoist insurgency was the gravest threat to India's internal security since the end of British rule in 1947.

Police began searching the area after the attack but didn't head into the forest through concerns over more attacks.

The Maoists used grenades, petrol bombs and set fire to the camp before fleeing with an assortment of arms and explosives.