Police fired rubber bullets at anti-monarchy protesters as new clashes erupted yesterday in Nepal's capital, while most residents spent the bulk of the daylight hours cooped up at home on the third day of a government curfew.
Police also fired tear gas and beat protesters with batons to break up rallies in Kathmandu's Kalanki, Gangabu and Dhumbarahi districts, while demonstrators staged similar rallies in other districts and outlying suburbs to demand King Gyanendra relinquish control over the government.
No serious injuries were immediately reported.
The Himalayan nation's long-simmering crisis has deepened in recent days, with mobs rampaging in cities throughout the country and a crackdown by security forces leaving three protesters dead and some 800 arrested, mostly without charge.
While most Nepalis are staying indoors, the security forces don't seem to mind Western tourists who have the empty roads of the city to themselves, and are seen walking or cycling in small numbers.
King Gyanendra dismissed an interim government and seized power more than a year ago, and an alliance of Nepal's seven major political parties -- with vocal backing from the country's Maoist rebels -- are demanding he restore full democracy.
Neither side has shown willingness to back down, and the royal government said it may have to use even more force to restore order, alleging that Maoist rebels had infiltrated political protests and fired on security forces over the weekend.
Four suspected rebels were arrested along with other protesters, and spent gun cartridges were discovered at protest sites, Home Minister Kamal Thapa said on Sunday.
The seven-party opposition rejected the allegation.
"This is baseless. He says he found cartridges. Anyone could have thrown them there," senior Nepali Congress party leader Ram Sharan Mahat said yesterday. "This is a peaceful movement. By alleging that Maoists have become part of it, the government is trying to legitimize its oppression."
However, the protesters have not been entirely peaceful.
Thousands of youths have hurled bricks and stones at police, injuring many, prompting Information Minister Srish Shumshere Rana to call them "hooligans."
"Ideally, I would have preferred an entirely peaceful movement," Mahat said. "But these are young people. If you provoke them, they will hit back. We have all done it."
"The crisis has deepened. Even the parties didn't expect such a massive public participation across the country," said Lok Raj Baral, executive chairman of the Nepal Center for Contemporary Studies.
Yesterday, doctors from 17 hospitals said they would protest against the government's actions in lunchtime gatherings, without affecting medical services.
The opposition's four-day general strike ended on Sunday, but the group vowed to continue protests.
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