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| Southeast Asia |
| 1 Indian man dies in protest in Nepal |
| 2015-11-03 |
| KATHMANDU, Nepal — Protesters demonstrating against Nepal’s new constitution clashed with police near the country’s southern border with India on Monday, leaving an Indian man dead, authorities said. Nepalese police opened fire to disperse the protesters after the clashes broke out, killing an Indian man who was on his way to the town of Birgunj in southern Nepal, said Indian police official Rakesh Kumar. Nepalese officials said there were clashes in Birgunj and the border area, but would not confirm the man’s death or give any more details. News stations in Nepal reported that several people were injured in the clashes. Members of the ethnic Madhesi people have been protesting Nepal’s new constitution, saying it divides the Madhesis among a number of states. The Madhesis, who want the creation of a larger state that they would dominate, have imposed a general strike in southern Nepal and blocked the border crossing, resulting in a severe fuel shortage across Nepal. At least 45 people have been killed in the protests since August. There is no official count of the injured. Earlier police used batons to disperse demonstrators angered by Nepal’s new constitution who had blocked a bridge crossing in Birgunj since September 24, cutting off vital supplies and forcing fuel rationing in the Himalayan nation. “Police beat up demonstrators this morning and burned down our tents, forcibly opening the border to allow trucks to move across,” said Shiva Patel, general secretary of the regional Sadbhawana party which took part in the blockade. “We were outnumbered then but now hundreds more have descended on the bridge and blocked it again,” Patel told AFP. Inspector Pawan Kumar Jha said the situation in Birgunj was “tense but under control” and no casualties had been reported. More at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |