Nepali Maoists open fire on convoy

The attack occurred late Sunday in Dhading district, 55km west of Kathmandu.

The rebels had fired on army vehicles escorting the bus and had hit the bus by mistake, an army official said.

"The rebels began shooting at the moving vehicles on the highway but the bus was hit accidentally," the official said.

The Maoists have said the blockade which began February 13 will be maintained until King Gyanendra reverses his February 1 seizure of power and declaration of emergency rule.

The blockade has reduced traffic to a trickle in the Himalayan state. Until the weekend it had been imposed through threat of retribution rather than through roadblocks or other action.

But on Saturday the rebels began blocking sections of highways linking the Kathmandu Valley to Nepal's main trading partner India as well as to the countryside, which is largely under Maoist control, a transport official said.

The rebels piled boulders and trees on the roads but security forces cleared them and allowed vehicles to pass through, the official said.

Also Saturday the Maoists toppled electricity pylons in Dhading district, plunging some two dozen villages into darkness.

India, Britain and the United States, the main military aid providers for Nepal's ill-equipped army, have called on the king quickly to restore democracy.

Shopkeepers said yesterday that prices have continued to soar as a result of the blockade, with most vegetables costing more than double what they were a week ago.

Officials and residents of Kathmandu said the action was impeding food supplies and prices were soaring even though the government has invoked an anti-hoarding law.

They said the price of tomatoes rose to 36 rupees (51 US cents) a kilogram from 12 rupees before the strike.

"Prices of peas, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies have continued to rise," said Arjun Prasad Aryal, deputy director of the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Committee.