Blockade brings Nepal to standstill

Maoist insurgents have blocked the Himalayan kingdom Nepal in a bid to stop supplies reaching the capital.

Rebels claim that they are acting to force the king to end direct rule and return to democracy.

Panic buying has not been reported on the streets of Kathmandu and neither has any violence been reported as the government strengthened security on key roads. Home minister Kamal Thapa said: "With all the security and other arrangements in place, the blockade is not going to be successful.'

King Gyanendra ended democracy and took direct powers in February last year after claiming that the government had failed to find a workable deal with the Maoist rebels, but his direct rule has only infuriated rebels further.

Troops are now guarding roads but there is hardly any movement on the kingdom's roads as the country has come to a virtual standstill.

During previous blockades, violence had been threatened but no action of this type has been reported in this blockade as vehicles stay away out of their own choice.

Shop owners in the capital claim that customers have dried up as people stay at home and public transport disappears, though the government is said to be working on a deal with rebels in the hope of appeasing them and ending the uprising.