Nepali Maoists set up road blocks again

The rebels, who are fighting for a communist republic in the world's only Hindu kingdom, blocked all vehicular movement in Banke and Bardiya districts and forced markets, industries, schools and colleges to close, a police spokesman said.

They also bombed the office of the Nepal Industrial Development Corporation in Banke, the spokesman said.

"The Maoists set off a powerful bomb in the NIDC office in Banke ... causing heavy damage to the building," he said.

The Maoists said the protest was also to press their demands for compensation for families of its activists killed by the army in western Nepal.

Nepal's civil war has claimed 10,000 lives since 1996.

Meanwhile, security was tight yesterday in Nepal's capital Kathmandu as authorities lifted a five-day curfew, which was imposed to end riots over the killing of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq.

Armed police and soldiers patrolled the streets of the ancient temple-studded city and security was increased in sensitive areas but authorities said the city was calm.

"There have been no reports of violence today," said home ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey.

The end to the curfew imposed last Wednesday coincided with a religious public holiday in the mainly Hindu kingdom and people flocked to temples.

Customers flooded shops that reopened for business.

The curfew had been eased for brief periods since Wednesday to allow people time to stock up on food but Monday was the first day it was fully lifted.

Authorities ordered the curfew last Wednesday after demonstrators ransacked the main mosque, recruiting company offices and Muslim businesses to protest the killings of the 12 Nepalis by Islamist militants in Iraq.

A crowd also tried to storm the Egyptian embassy which represents Iraqi interests in Nepal. At least two people were killed and more than 50 wounded in clashes between protestors and police.

Passions were inflamed after a statement claiming responsibility for the deaths was posted on an Islamist website by an al-Qaeda-linked group, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna.