Kathmandu  - Nepal's former rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has announced it will seek new recruits for its combat force, threatening to derail its three-year-old cooperation agreement with other political parties.

Issuing a statement late Monday night, the Maoist People's Liberation Army said it intended to recruit nearly 12,700 new combatants.

"The recruitment will be open to anyone who has reached the age of 18 and has a sense of sacrifice," the statement issued by Maoist commander Nanada Kishor Pun said.

The new recruits were needed to bring the strength of the Maoist combat forces to the level prior to United Nations verification process which deemed 12,700 combatants as either minors or recruited after cease-fire with the government in 2006, the Maoist commander said.

The Maoist move came after months of growing tension between the Maoist-led government and the Nepal army over the latter's recruitment of 3,000 soldiers.

The Nepal army has said the recruitment was necessary to fill vacant positions created by retirements. However, the Maoists say the new recruitment by the army violated the terms of peace agreement formally signed in November 2006.

The army's recruitment is now being debated in Nepal's Supreme Court on whether it was against the terms of the peace deal.

"The UN has disqualified thousands of our combatants, citing various reasons," Pun said. "We have opened recruitment only after the Nepal army did so."

The verified 19,600 Maoist combatants remain in 28 UN-monitored camps across the Himalayan nation. Those passing the verification process qualify for jobs in government security agencies, including the army.

But integration of the former rebel fighters into the security forces has been embroiled in disputes between political parties.

Meanwhile, the Maoist decision to recruit new fighters has been criticized by its coalition partner as well as opposition parties.

"This is a serious violation of the provisions of the peace agreement and could push the country towards disaster," said Jahalanath Khanal, the chief of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), which is a major coalition partner in the Maoist-led government.

"If the Maoist leadership is not serious towards the peace process, then we will have to intervene," Khanal said without elaborating.

The opposition Nepali Congress said the Maoist recruitment was part of its old policy of capturing state power to convert the country into a communist republic.

Nearly 14,000 people died in the decade-long communist insurgency which eventually resulted in the abolition of monarchy last year and brought the Maoists into the government. (dpa)