(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Indian Maoist rebels freed an Italian tour guide on Thursday (April 12), almost a month after kidnapping him in a remote part of the state of Orissa in what was believed to be the first seizure of a foreigner by the leftist guerrillas.<br/> <br />Also known as Naxals, the rebels have fought for decades in a swathe of central and eastern India, including many resource-rich regions, where tension runs high between poor farmers and industrial developers.<br/> <br />In response to rebel demands, the authorities freed a Maoist leader's wife from prison and promised to facilitate the release of several imprisoned rebels and their supporters.<br/> <br />India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, calls the Maoists India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to higher growth and more jobs in Asia's third-largest economy.<br/> <br />Hundreds of people are killed every year in the conflict, although levels of violence have fallen in recent years.
