Four protesters shot dead by Nepal security forces

SECURITY forces fired on thousands of pro-democracy protesters in southeastern Nepal yesterday, killing at least four, and the government reimposed a curfew in the capital to prevent a massive rally urging the king to loosen his grip on power.

Two weeks of bloody opposition protests and a general strike against the rule of King Gyanendra have paralysed Nepal, leaving the country at its most volatile since the monarch seized power 14 months ago. At least 10 people have been killed during the demonstrations.

Officials claimed security forces in Chandragadi, about 310 miles south-east of Kathmandu, opened fire after being shot at by protesters, who hurled bricks and debris.

The government has made similar claims during the past two weeks, but those accounts have not been confirmed independently.

The region’s chief administrator, Bhola Siwakoti, said the protesters defied a ban in the town and were sacking government and private property.

The were conflicting reports of how many were killed.

The latest deaths bring to at least 10 the number of people killed by security forces during the protests.

Since the opposition campaign began April 6, ordinary Nepalis have joined rallies alongside students and political activists.

The royal government has responded harshly, claiming that Nepal’s communist insurgents - who are allied with the political opposition - had violently infiltrated the rallies.

The king seized power in February 2005, claiming a need to restore order and crush a communist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in 10 years.