The army is replacing it's elderly 7.62mm L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs) with 5.56mm M16 rifles, 5,000 of which had been acquired by the second week of August. The Royal Palace security forces already have the rifle, but the rest of the RNA will be armed over the next three years. The rifles are expensive, and Nepal can only afford to buy them in small lots by an installment plan. - Adam Geibel

The army has updated the death toll, to 219 dead, from the November 15 battle with the rebels.