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Armed bus convoy runs Maoist rebels' siege of Kathmandu

A heavily guarded convoy of six buses snaked its way out of Nepal's capital yesterday, the first vehicles to defy Maoist rebels who blockaded Kathmandu this week with threats alone and without setting up a single roadblock.

But the risk of attacks by the insurgents kept other vehicles off the roads, and police said no cars or delivery trucks have entered the capital since Wednesday's start of the blockade, called by the rebels to demand that the government release jailed comrades.

The blockade has left the capital with only a few days' worth of fresh produce and cooking fuel, officials have said.

However, the city has enough food staples such as rice and flour to last about a month, commerce ministry official Dinesh Pyakurel said.

Even with dozens of soldiers in trucks guarding the convoy of six buses, many would-be travelers were too scared to use them and only about 50 passengers headed off for various destinations in Nepal's southwest.

In the past, rebels have burned dozens of vehicles and planted mines to reinforce blockades, and early this week they threw a bomb at a luxury hotel for disregarding an order to shut down. "We have doubled the number of patrols and mobilized troops all over the highway. Security forces are on high alert all across the nation," Home Ministry official Anantraj Pandey said.

Army officials said they have offered to escort supply trucks to bring food into the city, but truck owners have refused to work.

People in Kathmandu were mostly calm and store owners reported no panic buying. Many civilians said they expected the rebels to drop the blockade after a few days.

The rebels -- inspired by Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) -- have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy with a communist state. More than 9,500 people have died in the war, most of them in rural areas far from the capital.

The guerrillas have struck Kathmandu before, planting bombs under buses and motorcycles to enforce strikes or inspiring students to shut down schools. But this week's blockade was unusual because it was succeeding simply on fear.

There were no reports of rebels setting up barricades on any roads, and police officers said they had seen no guerrillas. But the insurgents were believed to be watching the roads, which were empty except for military and police vehicles.

Other than planes, which are too expensive for most in this impoverished nation, roads are the only way to travel in the Kathmandu Valley, and its 1.5 million people depend on trucks to bring fuel, food and other goods.

The rebels sent a notice to newspapers last week saying that beginning Wednesday they would impose the blockade for an indefinite period to pressure the government to free jailed guerrillas and provide information on others who are missing. They threatened to attack any vehicles traveling on the highways.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government has made no public comment on the demands.

Authorities refuse to say how many rebels are being detained. Nepalese law allows soldiers to detain people suspected of being rebels for 90 days without charge.
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