A high-ranking Maoist said on condition of anonymity that top rebel leaders met in mid-July and decided the guerrillas would shoot any troops seen more than five kilometers (three miles) away from their barracks, despite the ceasefire in place since January 29.

He said the meeting was chaired by the Maoists' elusive leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal -- known by the alias Prachanda (The Fierce) -- near Surkhet, 398 kilometers (248 miles) southwest of the capital Kathmandu.

In an apparent implementation of the policy, guerrillas late Wednesday opened fire on an army patrol in Surkhet district although there were no casualties on either side, an army official told AFP.

The official confirmed the troops were 10 kilometers (six miles) away from their barracks at Chhinchu but said it was a standard patrol.

On July 24, a female Maoist guerrilla was killed in a shootout triggered by a similar rebel attack on troops in the western Kalikot district, according to army officials.

Fearing a collapse of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa reviewed the security situation Wednesday with army, police and other security officials. He ordered all suspicious vehicles be searched in sensitive parts of Kathmandu, a source in his cabinet said.