Government and rebels formally sign peace agreement in Nepal

Nepalese Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, left, and the spokesperson of the Nepal Communist Party group Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma shake hands during a signing of peace agreement in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, March 5, 2021. The leader of the small rebel group Netra Bikram Chand , who is better known by his guerrilla name Biplav, merged out of hiding on Friday after the government lifted a ban on his group so it could take part in the public signing of the peace agreement. This group had split from the Maoist Communist party, which fought government troops between 1996 and 2006, when it gave up its armed revolt, agreed to U.N.-monitored peace talks and joined mainstream politics. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Nepal’s government and a communist rebel group have formally signed a peace agreement aimed at ending violent attacks, extortion and bombings by the rebels.

Rebel leader Netra Bikram Chand, better known by his guerrilla name Biplav, emerged from hiding on Friday after the government lifted a ban on his Nepal Communist Party group so it could take part in the public signing of the peace agreement.