One killed in bomb explosion in southern Nepal

Jan 25, 2009, 12:32 GMT

Kathmandu - One person was killed and three were injured in a powerful explosion that ripped through a market in southern Nepal, police said Sunday.

The explosion was caused by a time bomb at a market in Karmaiaya village of Ratauhat district, about 100 kilometres south of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, on Sunday afternoon, the police said.

The explosion killed a vegetable seller and also caused damage to a section of the market. A group calling itself Terai Army claimed responsibility for the blast.

Independent Radio Kantipur radio said a central member of the armed rebel group had telephoned its correspondent in southern Nepal to claim responsibility for the blast.

The group has been involved in a string of bomb attacks in southern Nepal to press its demands for autonomy in the southern Nepalese plains known as Terai.

There are nearly two dozen armed rebel groups operating in Terai with demands ranging for greater rights for ethnic Madhesi community to autonomous state for the region with the right to self determination.

In October, the Nepalese government called on rebel groups for peace talks to end violence in the region.

However, less than half a dozen groups have accepted the government offer and only a few of them have actually held talks with the government.

The armed groups have been blamed for over 150 deaths since the beginning of 2007. They have also been accused of intimidating people, extortion and abduction of people opposed to them.