Armed escorts guard Nepal food trucks

Nepal's said it was deploying armed escorts for trucks carrying food into Kathmandu as fresh demonstrations broke out yesterday in the capital, besieged by a general strike called to demand a return to democracy following the king's seizure of power.

The royal government also offered cash incentives to drivers who defy the strike in Kathmandu, where supplies of essential items were running low.

The general strike, organized by opposition political parties since April 6, has forced most vehicles off the highways and kept markets closed in many cities across the country.

King Gyanendra fired the democratic government and seized power in February last year, saying he needed control to restore political order and end a communist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in the past decade.

The communist rebels are now backing a campaign, launched by a coalition of the country's major political parties, for a return to democracy. Many fear that breaking the strike would draw reprisals from the guerrillas.

"We will provide armed escorts to trucks transporting essential goods to Kathmandu," Dipendra Thapa, secretary at the ministry of works and transport, said yesterday.

The government also announced a 3,500 rupees (US$48) incentive payment for truck drivers who break the strike and haul food, fuel and other essentials on Nepal's highways, the only means of transportation in much of the country.

Also yesterday, the government forced several Kathmandu service stations to open and distribute rationed gasoline and diesel.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators defied a government ban on protests in Kathmandu, with hundreds marching in at least four parts of the city, many chanting anti-government slogans.

About more were heading toward Kathmandu from the city's eastern farming suburb of Bhaktapur. Clerks and other workers at the city's supreme court walked out of their offices and demonstrated outside.

"We are here to join to show our support for the ongoing movement for democracy," said court clerk Janardan Purush Dhakal, who was leading the protest.

Police protesters had clashed in the city a day earlier, as tens of thousands of angry Nepalis took to the streets across the country to demand a return to democracy.

The demonstrations were the largest since opponents of Gyanendra's royal dictatorship began a major protest campaign and nationwide strike that has halted vital transport and paralyzed major cities for the past 11 days.

An coalition has appealed to Nepalis to support the campaign by not paying taxes, customs duties, interest on loans from state banks and payments to government utilities. The prices for what few vegetables can be found in Kathmandu's markets have risen fivefold during the strike. Chicken and mutton prices have doubled.