Nepal king supporters, opponents clash

Jul 7, 2007, 12:19 GMT

Kathmandu - People queuing up to greet Nepal's embattled King Gyanendra on his birthday Saturday came under attack from Maoist youth wing Young Communist League (YCL) activists, police said.

According to the police, at least 10 people were injured, including two police officers, when the opposing side clashed near the royal palace in Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

'Police had to intervene to break up the scuffles that broke out when YCL activists attacked people wishing to greet the king,' an officer at police headquarters said.

Tension was high most of the day Saturday in Kathmandu after the YCL along with youth wings of political parties in government said they would disrupt any plans by the pro-king groups to celebrate King Gyanendra's 61st birthday.

Earlier Saturday, thousands of Maoists held a rally in central Kathmandu, bringing traffic to a complete halt.

They also attacked symbols that identified with Nepalese royalty and vandalized a commercial shopping centre.

Many protestors carried banners calling for the king to leave the country, referring to him as 'criminal' and chanted slogans against the monarch.

However, the pro-royalist rally did go ahead in the face of threats, attended by just a couple of hundred people. But there was a bigger queue at the royal palace.

There was a visible police presence in areas around the royal palace after the king asked for more security from the government in the face of Maoist threats.

King Gyanendra ascended the throne in June 2001, after a royal palace shooting wiped off the entire family of his brother King Birendra.

Many in Nepal still believe that the incident was covered up and the truth of the matter never came to light.

Nepal will hold a constituent assembly polls in November to choose a body that will vote on whether Nepal remains a monarchy or becomes a republic.