Tens of thousands defy curfew in Kathmandu

Updated at 4.40 pm

KATHMANDU: Tens of thousands of Nepalese staged peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital Kathmandu on Friday, despite an official curfew and shoot-on-sight orders.

The biggest turnout was on the western rim at Kalanki where the crowd spilled miles along the Ring Road.

On the 16th day of a general strike and clashes that have left a dozen people dead and hundreds injured, angry shouts filled the air.

But armed police and troops had not intervened by late afternoon to block the mass of people on the edge of the curfew zone as happened on Thursday, when three protesters where shot dead at Kalanki and scores wounded.

"The crowds stretched over some eight kilometres (five miles). They've been coming past me for 40 minutes and it's not over yet," said Rupesh Nepal of the Nepalese rights group INSEC (Informal Sector Service Centre).

He estimated the number of demonstrators at more than 100,000. And many thousands more also marched unhindered inside the curfew area, witnesses said.

Waving opposition party flags and chanting anti-royal slogans such as "Democracy at any cost", the demonstration moved from Buddhanagar in the south through back lanes to New Baneshor and out towards edge of the city.

Security forces cleared several roadblocks to let the protesters through, witnesses said.

Nepal's royal government extended curfew and shoot-on-sight orders Friday in the capital after an alliance of seven parties called mass demonstrations for the second day running.

People stayed out to defy the curfew as soon as it was re-imposed again at 9:00 am (0315 GMT) on Friday.

Mobs of youths on Friday morning taunted security forces, shouting "Down with the King", at Kalanki, where police fought running battles on Thursday.

Burning tyres blocked roads on some city streets as well as on the outskirts beyond the curfew zone.

The alliance's "mass movement coordinating committee" vowed to step up the strike to force King Gyanendra to restore multi-party democracy in the Himalayan nation.

"Our movement is successfully moving forward despite the state's excessive use of force during demonstrations nationwide," a statement said.

The strike "will continue with more intensity in the capital and across the country until further notice," the parties said.

A 25-hour curfew inside the capital's ring road was enforced from 2:00 am Thursday until 3:00 am on Friday and then re-imposed from 9:00 am till 8:00 pm.

When the curfew was lifted in the morning, residents scurried to the few stalls and grocers which opened after dawn. Housewife Sabina Dhakal ran to a nearby shop for food after being confined to the house for a whole day.

"Either there is a curfew or there are protests which are making life miserable," she said.

"The government should understand that curfew is not the answer to resolve the problem, it will just worsen the situation."

College student Apurwa Singh added: "The government is desperate and is using all means to stop the protests. But the reality is the government has failed."