Nepal braces for violence after more blasts

TWO fresh bomb blasts hit the tourist town of Pokhara in Nepal yesterday, following a series of overnight explosions in the Himalayan kingdom, which came just hours after Maoist rebels ended a four-month truce.

The explosions soon after the Maoists ended their unilateral truce at midnight Monday have raised fears of a resurgence of violence.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in yesterday’s blasts in Pokhara, 200km west of Kathmandu. One occurred near a local government office and the other on a road.

No one was hurt in the blasts in Pokhara and in the two other western towns of Butwal and Bhairahawa, and no group has claimed responsibility, but officials blame the rebels.

In its first reaction to the end of the truce, Nepal’s royalist government said it stood ready to protect the country.

“It is unfortunate. The state is prepared for any eventuality,” junior Information Minister Shris Shumsher Rana told Reuters. “We are ever vigilant.”

The United Nations expressed concern over the prospect of an escalation in fighting.

“The United Nations urges both parties to the conflict to exercise restraint, to respect fully their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to take appropriate measures to establish a mutual ceasefire,” it said in a statement.

The Maoists first declared a three-month truce in September, but later extended it for another month under popular pressure.