Explosions blamed on Communist rebels rocked several towns overnight in Nepal just hours after King Gyanendra claimed his year of direct rule had curtailed attacks by the insurgents, officials said yesterday.
Suspected rebels in the southwestern town of Kapilbastu bombed the house of Ram Das Gupta, the town's lone mayoral candidate for nationwide municipal elections next week that the insurgents have vowed to disrupt.
The house was destroyed, but Gupta and his family were unharmed because they were staying at a government safe house, said Deepak Kumar Joshi, the chief government officer in the area. Kapilbastu is about 300km southwest of Kathmandu.
The rebels, who have threatened to attack any candidates contesting the elections, also were blamed for explosions at the houses of two mayoral candidates in Tikapur, about 500km west of Kathmandu.
There were no casualties because the occupants were living in an undisclosed location, said Maniraj Gyawali, a government official in the area.
In neighboring Dhangadi town, a group of rebels fought a gunbattle for an hour on Wednesday night but were forced to retreat by government security forces.
In Tanahu, 160km west of Kathmandu, explosions damaged the police chief's residence. Attackers also opened fire with guns, but no casualties were reported.
The attacks came just hours after King Gyanendra announced that security had improved since he seized absolute power a year ago, and that the tide was turning against the rebels, who control large parts of rural Nepal.
"Terrorist activities have narrowed down to just a few sporadic criminal activities," he said on Wednesday on the anniversary of the takeover.
The Maoist rebels have joined a coalition of Nepal's main political parties in opposing the royalist government's plans to hold municipal elections next Wednesday in 58 cities and towns across the Himalayan country.
The political parties argue that the polls are a ploy to legitimize the king's takeover on Feb. 1 last year, a move which also has drawn criticism from foreign governments that have urged him to restore democracy.
When he seized power, the monarch said he was taking action to quell the country's Communist rebellion and end corruption.
Since 1996, about 12,000 people have died in the rebellion, which aims to replace the monarchy with a socialist state.
Meanwhile, media rights groups condemned police attacks on journalists protesting on Wednesday against a government ban on criticism of the king, the government and security forces. At least two journalists were hospitalized and about 30 others were detained, though most have since been released.
"Journalists in Nepal have every reason to protest the king's continued campaign of intimidation against the independent press," said Ann Cooper of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
"The events of the last 24 hours are appalling and intolerable. The violent intervention of police and the targeting of journalists during peaceful protests is totally unacceptable," said International Federation of Journalists president Christopher Warren.
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