Nepali troops continue to escort vehicles

The rebels Saturday halted the 14-day blockade staged to protest at King Gyanendra's seizure of power at the start of the month.

The Maoists cancelled the protest after it slowed traffic to a trickle, sent food prices soaring and caused hardship for families in one of the world's poorest countries.

But the Maoist supremo Prachanda, or the "Fierce One", warned of a countrywide general strike next month unless the king reverses his power grab.

In the southwest of the country, police said the guerrillas shot dead a senior traffic policeman and his police bodyguard.

Deputy Superintendent Bikram Chand and his bodyguard Havildar Dilliraj Panthi were gunned down at Chand's home at Butwal, said Deputy Superintendent Maya Kumar Saha.

Butwal is 300km southwest of Kathmandu. Saha said the attackers managed to escape.

Security personnel were seen at a key checkpoint escorting vehicles in and out of Kathmandu Sunday.

"More than 400 vehicles left the Kathmandu valley escorted by security personnel Sunday morning," a police officer said at the Nagdhunga checkpost, 14km south of the capital. "Around 25 have came in."

"Escorting will continue as we cannot totally trust the rebels who said they have called off their blockade call," the police officer said.

An army official at the Gajuri checkpoint, 54km west of the capital also said armed convoys were continuing.

"The escorting of vehicles by security personnel will continue until further notice comes from our office," he said. "None of the vehicles has been allowed to operate without escorts."

The Maoist blockade was enforced mainly through fear of rebel reprisals rather than through a show of force. But police said a bus driver was killed and nine passengers hurt on Monday last week when rebels opened fire on a convoy in western Nepal.

"There are no obstacles on the roads and the situation is gradually returning to normalcy," the army official said.