Strike paralyze Nepal for third day

Strike called by communist rebels paralyzed life in Nepal for the third day, with schools and businesses shut and buses refusing to ply fearing Maoist attacks.

A general strike called by communist rebels entered its third day on Thursday, paralyzing life in this Himalayan kingdom.

HT Image

Schools and businesses remained closed across the country even though authorities offered assurances of heightened security and dispatched hundreds of troops to patrol towns and highways. Buses refused to carry passengers for fear of attacks by the Maoist rebels, who in the past have torched several vehicles defying strike calls.

In the capital Katmandu, rebels hurled bombs at least three taxis Wednesday for defying the strike, police said. No one was injured in the blasts.

Elsewhere in the country, rebels and troops fought three separate battles Wednesday that left at least 12 guerillas and an army soldier dead, police said.

The rebels, who claim inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist government. The insurgency has intensified since the separatists withdrew from a seven-month cease-fire in August after three rounds of peace talks. The insurgency has claimed more than 9,000 lives.