Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Opposition Leaders Arrested in Nepal as Insurgency Flares
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=11A91FD:3919ACA Police raided homes
of opposition leaders, detained dozens of activists who defied ban on
all public gatherings across Kathmandu Authorities in Nepal have
detained dozens of opposition leaders before of a four-day nationwide
strike called to protest King Gyanendra's seizure of power last year.
Meanwhile, six security personnel were killed in clashes with Maoist
rebels, who are waging a violent insurgency.







Riot police detain a pro-democracy protestor in Katmandu, Nepal,
Wednesday, April 5, 2006Police raided homes of opposition leaders in
Kathmandu, and detained scores of activists who had defied a ban on
all public gatherings in the capital this week.

But an opposition spokesman, Arjuna Nara Singha, says the
pro-democracy strike will start Thursday as planned.

"We want to give the message to the autocratic King and also the world
that the Nepalese people publicly, unitedly stand for democracy," he
said.

The royalist administration, which took power 14-months ago, is
banning the strike due to fears Maoist rebels will incite violence,
despite a rebel declaration of a unilateral cease-fire in Kathmandu.

But the Maoist insurgency continues to rage in the countryside. The
latest violence killed a group of security personnel in the Jhapa
district in the southeast.


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