Maoist rebels attacked a convoy on a key highway west of Nepal's capital and killed a truck driver, an army officer said on Monday. The driver was killed on Sunday when the rebels hurled crude bombs and fired at the convoy at Charaundi, 80 km west of Kathmandu, to enforce a blockade roads linking the hill-ringed city with the rest of the country. "They fired at the convoy from the jungle along the highway," the army officer said. At least seven other people were injured in the first deadly attack on a convoy since the Maoists called the blockade nine days ago.The guerrillas, who model their tactics on the Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong but are disowned by Beijing, are protesting against King Gyanendra's Feb. 1 move to dismiss the democratic government. Army spokesman Brigadier General Dipak Gurung told Reuters more troops had been rushed to the site of Sunday's attack and highway patrols had been boosted. "We have definitely beefed up security along the highways and helicopters are providing air patrols," Gurung said. He said more that 200 vehicles had entered the capital on Sunday carrying essential goods and petroleum products under army escorts -- much less than on a normal day. Traffic on the landlocked nation's highways has come to a near halt as the guerrillas have set up road blocks and barricades to cut off supplies in their latest attempt to bolster their campaign for a communist republic. Residents in Nepalgunj, a business centre, said dozens of tankers loaded with petroleum products from India had been stranded because drivers were too scared to enter Nepal. The blockade sent prices of vegetables soaring in Kathmandu, but there was no sign of panic buying.
| "Gee, Mother, this means I can't any brussel sprouts." "Hush, child, there's always tree bark." |