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Protesters killed as Nepal police shoot at crowd
Nepalese police opened fire today as thousands of protesters marched toward the capital Kathmandu in defiance of a government-imposed curfew, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more.
Doctors at Model hospital in Kathmandu said two people had died and more than 40 were in critical condition, mostly with head injuries, after police fired rubber-bullets and live rounds at the crowd. Witnesses said they'd seen at least one other person killed.
The capital city had been poised for confrontation, with soldiers and police patrolling the streets as thousands of protesters from surrounding areas headed toward the city limits, where troops had orders to shoot on sight anyone breaking the curfew.
Demonstrators marched toward Kathmandu from several directions, and thousands protested just outside the curfew area in the suburb of Gangabu, watched by a line of police and soldiers.
District administration officers said the 2am-8pm curfew was necessary to prevent opposition parties from holding a huge rally today to demand that King Gyanendra loosen his grip on power.
Residents in parts of central Kathmandu came out onto their roofs, whistling and banging plates. People used mobile phones to call each other and send text messages, trying to draw each other out for demonstrations.
"We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the nation because we are about to be killed, but we are not concerned about that. It is for the nation and without the nation there is no life," said Sangam Poudel, a 22-year-old student.
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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article358887.ece
The capital city had been poised for confrontation, with soldiers and police patrolling the streets as thousands of protesters from surrounding areas headed toward the city limits, where troops had orders to shoot on sight anyone breaking the curfew.
Demonstrators marched toward Kathmandu from several directions, and thousands protested just outside the curfew area in the suburb of Gangabu, watched by a line of police and soldiers.
District administration officers said the 2am-8pm curfew was necessary to prevent opposition parties from holding a huge rally today to demand that King Gyanendra loosen his grip on power.
Residents in parts of central Kathmandu came out onto their roofs, whistling and banging plates. People used mobile phones to call each other and send text messages, trying to draw each other out for demonstrations.
"We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the nation because we are about to be killed, but we are not concerned about that. It is for the nation and without the nation there is no life," said Sangam Poudel, a 22-year-old student.
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article358887.ece
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Three bodies with gunshot wounds and about 40 injured people had been brought to the Kathmandu Model Hospital, doctors said.
Among the wounded, at least 10 were in a critical condition, a doctor at the hospital said.
Earlier, witnesses said police had opened fire to push back thousands of protesters attempting to enter the city from the western suburb of Kalanki in violation of a curfew, imposed to prevent a rally against King Gyanendra's absolute rule.
"Police opened indiscriminate fire," said Kundan Aryal, a human rights group volunteer who helped take wounded to the Model Hospital. "They used batons and fired rubber and live bullets. They chased the fleeing protesters."
Arun Giri, a local resident who saw the shooting, said wounded people were scattered on the road.
About 30,000 people had walked from surrounding villages and were marching towards Kathmandu on Thankok Road, the main route into the capital.
At least eight people had been killed previously and hundreds wounded in police action against demonstrators since a seven-party alliance launched crippling protests 16 days ago to demand restoration of multi-party democracy.
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