Nepal shuts down as terror rules

A bomb disposal team works to clear a suspected explosive device

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- A strike called by Maoist rebels went into effect Thursday in Nepal, shutting down the Himalayan nation at a time when a surge in rebel violence has raised fears among many citizens.

As dawn broke in the capital, vehicles stayed off the roads and businesses remained shut. Only government employees could be seen walking to their offices. School children also stayed home.

Reports from outside Kathmandu said that the strike was taking hold in other parts of the country, especially in the towns along the southern border with India.

Small groups of supporters of the underground Nepal Communist Party (Maoists) staged protests early Thursday in various parts of Kathmandu.

Heavily-armed police have been dispersed across the capital. Police said minor clashes have erupted in the city and elsewhere, but said there were no reports of casualties.

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The strike has been called by Maoists to call attention to their belief that the June 1 royal massacre was the result of a conspiracy by new King Gyanendra and the civilian government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

An official report into their deaths has already blamed then-Crown Prince Dipendra for the killings.

The Late King Birendra and eight other members of the royal family were killed inside the Narayanhity Royal Palace in Kathmandu. Dipendra died a few days later due to self-inflicted wounds.

Since the royal family deaths, Nepal has remained unsettled and analysts have said the rebel strikes which have followed are an attempt to take advantage of the situation.

"The Maoists are striking at the government with impunity now," said Kunda Dixit, the editor of the popular Nepali Times newspaper.

"They have seized the initiative and are putting pressure on the authorities."

The Maoist strike comes on the heels of one of the most violent times in Nepal's history.

For much of this month, the rebels have launched raids on police posts in remote districts, killing and abducting policemen.

About 42 policemen have lost their lives in separate rebel attacks this month. Nearly four dozen policemen have been abducted by rebels and their whereabouts are unknown.

The rebels are demanding a republican state in this Himalayan Kingdom, which has been opposed by the elected government. Nepal became a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in 1990.

Meanwhile, the government has condemned Tuesday night's killing of a top police officer by suspected Maoists.

"We deplore the cowardly attack by terrorists," said Sri Kant Regmi, the secretary of the Home Ministry which is responsible for internal security.

Senior Superintendent of Police Parmeshwar Singh Sijapati was shot dead by suspected rebels in the western district of Dang while on a routine patrol.

The government said it believes Maoists are behind the killing.

Sijapati is the highest ranking police officer killed in the Maoist insurgency since the rebellion began in early 1996. About 1,700 people have lost their lives since the rebellion surfaced five years ago.

On Wednesday, a powerful bomb exploded outside the residence of Sujata Koirala, the daughter of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

Though no one was injured in the blast, the explosion caused damage to the roof of the home and the wall surrounding it, police said. Police suspect Maoists in the attack as well.

In recent days, the rebels have targeted the prime minister more often than at any other time.

Last week, they exploded a bomb outside the official residences of the prime minister and the Chief Justice, followed early this week by another attack at Koirala's family home in his hometown of Biratnagar.

Earlier this week a senior Cabinet minister told CNN that the government needs to treat the insurgency as a breakdown in law and order and deal with it accordingly.

"Since they have shown no interest in resolving the problem through talks, we should now go after them with offensive operations and finish them," said the minister, who requested anonymity.

But that appears unlikely, at least until the elected government can establish control over the Royal Nepal Army, which is more loyal to the king than to the civilian government.

Army units have been dispatched to rebel-held districts but they have failed to intervene to save the police on several occasions, fueling suspicion about their command structure.

As a result, the government is raising a paramilitary force to replace the under-trained and ill-equipped police in the troubled districts.

Recent attempts at dialogue with the rebels devolved into bickering, and a bid to replace the police force with army and paramilitary forces had been on hold since the June 1 massacre of Nepal's royal family.

King Gyanendra was installed in early June after his elder brother, King Birendra, was killed by Crown Prince Dipendra. Ten royal family members died in the carnage, including Dipendra, who was briefly crowned king as he lay in a hospital comatose from self-inflicted wounds.

--Journalist Suman Pradhan contributed to this story