Twelve people were hurt, two seriously, as police in Nepal's capital yesterday fired rubber bullets and used force to stop anti-king protesters from reaching the seat of power, doctors and police said.
Two protesters were hit by rubber bullets in clashes with police during an 11-hour curfew on the outskirts of Kathmandu as a general strike against King Gyanendra's absolute rule neared its third week.
The protesters were trying to cross into the city limits, when police first fired tear gas and then opened fire with rubber bullets, the independent Kantipur television said.
PHOTO: AP
The crowd quickly dispersed after the shooting and the injured were driven to hospital in a UN vehicle, the report said.
"Two protesters hit by rubber bullets were just brought in," said Dr. Santosh Giri, in the emergency department of B&B Hospital.
"One of them is in a serious condition as he has been hit in the neck," the doctor said.
Thousands of other people marched in Kathmandu's Kalanki and Gangabu neighborhoods -- which have been the center of the protests for the past few days.
There were clashes in four different areas of the city, but on a much smaller scale than disturbances on Saturday when more than 100 people were hurt.
A senior officer, on condition of anonymity, said the curfew had been strictly enforced following Saturday's march by 300,000 people on the center of the city to within 1km of the king's palace.
"The curfew has been strictly enforced today and we're not going to take any chances," the officer said.
At least 14 people have died and hundreds have been injured in clashes between pro-democracy activists and security forces in Nepal in an upsurge of civil unrest that began on April 6.
A protester wounded during a demonstration four days ago died from bullet wounds yesterday after undergoing treatment in India.
Ten protesters were taken to Kathmandu Model Hospital yesterday, including one with serious head injuries, Dr. Sarita Pandey said.
A heavier than usual contingent of soldiers, armed with machine-guns, were posted every few hundred meters around the perimeter of the royal palace yesterday, reporters said. The army had also strung barbed wire to block off some inner alleys and major intersections yesterday.
Protests were also taking place outside the capital. In the southern town of Bharatpur, hundreds of women -- some carrying their children -- banged plates and utensils in protest at the king's rule.
In Nepalgunj, 500km southwest of Kathmandu, farmers on plows and bullock carts destroyed a statue of King Tribhuwan, Gyanendra's grandfather.
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