Maoists form alliance with CPN-UML

Nepal's Maoist party yesterday announced an alliance with the Communist Party Nepal-Union Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), the largest communist bloc, ahead of key elections seen as the final step in the Himalayan nation's post-war transition to a federal democracy.

The two parties, with a third smaller partner, have agreed a tie up for general elections later this year, and plan to unify as a single communist party following the polls. The Maoists have dominated Nepal's politics for more than 20 years after waging a decade-long insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives.