நேபாள் முஸ்லீம் கலவரம் தொடர்கிறது மேலும் பலர் பலி

மாவோயிஸ்டுகளுக்கு எதிரான குழுவை வைத்து நிர்வகித்து வந்த மோஹித் கான் மாவோயிஸ்டுகளால் கொல்லப்பட்டதற்காக இந்துக்கள் மீது முஸ்லீம்கள் தாக்கியதில் இதுவரை 40க்கும் மேற்பட்ட இந்துக்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டுள்ளனர்

Violence 'escalating' in southern Nepal
2 hours ago

KATHMANDU (AFP) — Communal unrest in southern Nepal is worsening and authorities need to act quickly to prevent all-out violence, police and rights activists said.

The unrest in the Indian border district of Kapilvastu erupted after the murder this week of local Muslim politician Mohid Khan who headed an anti-Maoist vigilante group during Nepal's civil war.

Police said clashes in the impoverished Terai lowlands had left at least 22 people dead.

"People are being terrorised. The attacks are taking the shape of communal violence," district police deputy superintendent Kuber Kadayat told AFP from the area, around 230 kilometres (145 miles) southwest of Kathmandu.

"The death toll could rise still further as police are yet to reach remote villages where there have been reports of violent clashes in the past few days," said another local official, Narendra Dahal.

News reports said the warring parties in the area had divided along political, religious and ethnic lines.

"There was a tussle between Khan's supporters and Maoists because of past antagonism," the Nepali Times wrote Friday.

It said violence had also broken out between Pahadis, or hill people who have settled in the Terai, and ethnic Mahadhesi natives of the lowlands. The paper said there was also "potential this would turn into a Hindu-Muslim riot".

At least 100 people have been killed in the Terai region this year, clouding a peace deal reached late last year between the government and the Maoists.

Around a dozen armed ethnic groups have emerged who say they are fighting for greater autonomy for the Terai, home to around half Nepal's 27 million people who have long been sidelined by Nepal's Pahadi-dominated elite.

The head of a leading local rights group said the situation was a "serious human tragedy".

"The government has not been able to maintain law and order," said Kundan Aryal, general secretary of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC).

"Both Muslim and Hindu community people have been affected and we think some criminal elements are taking advantage of the situation. There is a danger that communal disturbances could spread in other areas if the government doesn't take prompt action," said Aryal, who visited the area Thursday.