Nepali rebels expel No. 2 leader

KATHMANDU, Friday (Xinhua) - The Nepali anti-government guerrillas have expelled their number two top leader Babu Ram Bhattarai from their party, the Home Ministry confirmed.in a press release.

Bhattarai was expelled because of his differences of opinion with the guerrillas' supreme leader Puspa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, revealed the guerrillas' spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who was quoted by the Home Ministry as saying.

"Bhattarai and his wife Hisila Yami were both expelled from the party and have been prohibited to issue any statements," Mahara said in a statement.

The couple was kept under a tight security of the guerrillas themselves in their "base area," he added.