South Asia News
Maoists call general strike across Nepal
Dec 6, 2009, 4:34 GMT
Kathmandu - A day-long general strike shut down much of Nepal Sunday, called by Maoists in response to the deaths of four supporters in clashes with police two days earlier.
Demonstrators took to the streets of the capital and other towns nationwide, forcing motorists off the road and shutting shops.
In Kathmandu, activists set fire to three motorcycles and vandalised shops and about a dozen vehicles that defied the strike, the police said.
Shops and markets were closed and public transport was not operating, the reports said.
Thousands of travellers were stranded along the highway, news reports said.
On Thursday, police attempts to evict Maoist-aligned groups from an area in western Nepal erupted into violence with the squatters attacking authorities with axes, machete and sticks.
Police opened fire on the crowd and killed four people, while one officer was also killed in the clash.
The conflict came after months of Maoist protests in an attempt to topple the government. They have been demonstrating since their government collapsed in May in a power struggle with the president.
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