Maoist rebels opened fire on security forces and bombed a government building in the heart of Kathmandu yesterday as their blockade of the ancient capital entered a third day.
The attacks came as Nepal's army appealed to citizens to defy the blockade, which is mainly being enforced through psychological fear, saying it would protect them from Maoist reprisals.
Two rebels opened fire on police and soldiers guarding Kathmandu's Land Registration office soon after the building was badly damaged by a bomb, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Ganesh K.C. The rebels then fled.
One police officer was injured in the attack and taken to hospital, he said. There was no word on his condition.
Another bomb exploded at an empty police post on the outskirts of Kathmandu yesterday and caused no injuries, police said.
The attacks were the first major violent incident since the Maoists announced their blockade, and the Nepalese army tried to reassure jittery residents.
"We want to tell vehicle owners to be free from this slavery mentality of terror created by rebel threats," army spokesman Rajendra Bahadur Thapa said. "We want to assure them we have enough security to protect them."
Troops were posted every 500 to 1,000m along highways and were also in the lush hills around the city, watching for rebels who have waged an increasingly deadly battle to topple the constitutional monarchy since 1996.
While the Maoists have put up no roadblocks to stop vehicles entering and leaving Kathmandu, fears of reprisals have kept many trucks, heavy vehicles and cars off major highways since the Maoists announced the blockade.
Thapa said the flow of vehicles coming through the so-called chicken neck leg of highway linking the rest of the country with the Kathmandu valley was increasing but it was still far below normal.
Vehicles travelling along the route covered their license plates so that the Maoists could not identify them.
"We don't mind them covering their license numbers," police officer Prashant Yadav said.
In food markets, meanwhile, prices, especially those of fresh fruit and vegetables, shot up by 50 to 100 percent overnight in the capital of 1.5 million, said Pralhad Sharma, spokesman for the Nepal Consumers Society.
The fresh produce comes mainly from the fertile plains and lowlands of the Terai that lies outside the blockade area.
"Most housewives and local people, especially low income ones, are very worried prices will soar further. They're very angry about the blockade," said Sharma.
"Prices of green vegetable, fresh fruits, onions, potatoes, have skyrocketed," housewife Urmila Sharma said.
Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka pledged to crack down on vendors found profiteering.
"We will send police and local officials," he said. "Necessary action is being taken."
Khadka said the Maoists were trying to create "psychological terror" in the kingdom where the insurgency has claimed nearly 10,000 lives.
In the past, rebel strike calls in the capital have lasted around five days. But the Maoists, who are seeking to install a communist republic, have said they would keep up the siege until their demands are met.
Their demands include release of jailed militants, details of missing activists and an inquiry into alleged custodial killings of rebels by security forces. They also want the government to stop labeling them terrorists.
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