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Maoists rally over Nepal killings Maoists rally over Nepal killings
(about 7 hours later)
Nepal's former Maoist rebels have rallied in Kathmandu in protest at the killing of their members in the south. Maoist former rebels in Nepal have rallied in Kathmandu in protest at the killing of their members in the south.
Several thousand attended the memorial service. The bodies of 25 people killed in Wednesday's fighting with regional rights activists were on display.Several thousand attended the memorial service. The bodies of 25 people killed in Wednesday's fighting with regional rights activists were on display.
At least 27 people died around the town of Gaur where a curfew is in place. Maoists say most were their supporters. At least 27 people died around the town of Gaur where a curfew has been lifted. Maoists say most were their supporters.
The bloodshed is the worst Nepal has seen since a truce last year which led to peace accords with the Maoists.The bloodshed is the worst Nepal has seen since a truce last year which led to peace accords with the Maoists.
More than 40 others were injured in the clashes, many critically.More than 40 others were injured in the clashes, many critically.
Police say violence broke out over a meeting ground in Gaur which both sides wanted to use.
'Heinous massacre''Heinous massacre'
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has condemned the killings, calling for those responsible to be held to account. Most of the bodies were cremated at the Pashupatinath temple, one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism.
About a dozen bodies were recovered from one spot. They had their heads broken after being hit Police official Kuber KadayatAbout a dozen bodies were recovered from one spot. They had their heads broken after being hit Police official Kuber Kadayat
She said her office had confirmed that most of those killed died of severe head wounds apparently inflicted by bamboo sticks. The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says after priests conducted the last rites, the dusk sky was filled with smoke and lit by flames as 14 funeral pyres blazed.
Many rounds of gunfire were heard at the time of the clashes. Four other bodies were taken to Muslim and Buddhist funeral grounds while seven unidentified bodies remained in hospital.
A BBC reporter in Gaur says activists of the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) are believed to have set fire to the Maoist podium at the meeting ground. Earlier, the 25 shrouded bodies had lain in crude wooden boxes at an open theatre.
Five Maoists were killed on the spot with sharpened poles; others were chased around the town and to a village where at least 10 were killed at a Hindu temple. Top Maoist leaders draped them with red flags and garlands while youths in red bandanas shuffled forward with flowers for weeping relatives, our correspondent says.
Our reporter says their heads were smashed in with bricks and poles and some of their bodies were burnt, adding that it looked like a scene of human sacrifice. Maoist deputy leader, Baburam Bhattarai, said that all the 25 or more dead people were Maoists and that the killings had been a conspiracy.
Police say violence broke out after a row over a meeting ground in Gaur, a centre of anti-Maoist sentiment where some of the former rebels have themselves used violence recently.
The sides blame each other for the violence in GaurThe sides blame each other for the violence in Gaur
A human rights activist said five of the dead were women and that the killings looked systematic and organised. Two or three hundred Maoists tried to use the same venue as 10 times that number of activists from a group called the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF), which campaigns for the rights of southern Nepalese.
"This heinous massacre has angered us," Maoist leader Prachanda said in a statement on Thursday evening, the Associated Press news agency reports. Mr Bhattarai said that if the authorities did not ban the MJF, the Maoists would have to "retaliate".
But he promised the Maoists "would be patient and disciplined for the sake of the upcoming elections" and the "democracy, peace and progress of the country". A leader of the Madheshi, Kishor Kumar Biswas, said on Thursday that most of those killed or injured were local people. A leader of the Madheshi, Kishor Kumar Biswas, said on Thursday that most of those killed or injured were local people.
TensionsTensions
The United Nations says most of those killed were beaten to death with bamboo poles.
Eyewitnesses say some were chased to a nearby village, their heads smashed in and some of the bodies burnt.
The UN, which is helping with the peace process, has condemned the killings but has also criticised Maoist fighters for leaving their camps in large numbers to protest against the deaths, in breach of ceasefire agreements.
Maoists and protesters seeking more rights for the Madheshi people in the south have spent months at loggerheads.Maoists and protesters seeking more rights for the Madheshi people in the south have spent months at loggerheads.
The Madheshi community wants a federal system
Groups speaking for Madheshis, or southern Nepalese, have been demonstrating since December for greater rights under the country's new constitution.Groups speaking for Madheshis, or southern Nepalese, have been demonstrating since December for greater rights under the country's new constitution.
The Maoists are bitterly opposed to most of these organisations, saying they themselves are the best guarantors of regional and ethnic rights.The Maoists are bitterly opposed to most of these organisations, saying they themselves are the best guarantors of regional and ethnic rights.
Under peace accords, thousands of former Maoist fighters and their weapons are supposed to be confined in UN-approved cantonments.
Nepalese parties are currently preparing for polls in June to elect an assembly that will write a new constitution.