Nepal’s seven biggest parties called for a general strike on Friday to protest against the killings of a dozen people after a drunken soldier fired into a crowd of Hindu pilgrims on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
At least a score more were wounded in the shooting at a temple in Nagarkot on Wednesday night. Witnesses said that an apparently inebriated armed soldier had returned to a spot where worshippers had gathered after an earlier spat with a local. He then fired indiscriminately at the crowd of hundreds for around 10 minutes.
Nepal’s military has been accused of violating human rights in its fight against Maoist rebels, a civil war that has claimed more than 12 500 lives. Initial reports suggested that the soldier had mistaken the villagers for left-wing guerrillas.
The Royal Nepalese Army confirmed the shooting and identified the soldier as Basudev Thapa. Locals said the army man had turned the gun on himself after firing into the crowds.
More than 15 000 protesters led by an alliance of seven political parties marched through Kathmandu demanding the country’s king restore democracy.
Friday’s strike is likely to herald another phase of political chaos in the Himalayan country. Subash Nemwang, a leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML, told Reuters that the government headed by King Gyanendra, who seized power in a royal coup in February, was responsible for the deaths of villagers. – Guardian Unlimited Â