The Maoists have apologized for attacks on civilians and promised to stop it. But they can't. The Maoists are not in control of all their gunmen, and a lot of these guys are really into the Maoist ideology, especially the "ends justifies the means" and "political power comes out of the barrel of a gun" angles. The Maoists have forcibly recruited thousands of teenagers over the years, and some of these kids are now in charge. As the communist radicals in Cambodia discovered, Maoist movements can easily spin out of control, into an orgy of random killings and atrocities.