Nicaragua said tonight that it had mounted a major offensive against rebel forces in northern Nicaragua.

The rebel unit flagged down the local bus in northern Nicaragua and summarily ordered the male passengers to get out.

Guerrillas operating in northern Nicaragua said today that they were ready to stop fighting and resume civilian life if their leaders directed them to do so.

It is common throughout its montane range, from northern Mexico to northern Nicaragua.

The contras have been pushed back from a part of northern Nicaragua where they were operating openly, officials said.

They were the ones who started the promotion, production, processing, transportation and marketing of coffee in northern Nicaragua.

In the 1950s the FJD played an important political role northern Nicaragua.

Benjamin Linder was a volunteer helping a small village in northern Nicaragua.

Its topography is irregular with many mountains, which are smaller than the mountains in northern Nicaragua.

Residents and human rights groups say he was among a growing number of victims of a Government drive against suspected rebel sympathizers in northern Nicaragua.