Police kill 2 protesters in restive south Nepal (12:35 p.m.)
KATMANDU, Nepal — Police opened fire Saturday on a group of ethnic protesters demanding greater rights who attacked a police patrol, killing at least two of them in restive southwest Nepal.
Government administrator Rishiram Dhakal said eight policemen were injured in the attack just after midnight.
The police were patrolling the streets of Dang, a town about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of the capital Katmandu, when the protesters confronted them.
Dhakal said the officers opened fire after several officers were injured in the melee with the demonstrators. Two protesters were killed.
A curfew was imposed in the town after protests by the Tharu ethnic group over past few days shut down the main highway and stranded thousands of people.
Earlier this month, two days of violence involving Tharu demonstrators left three people dead in Sauraha town, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Katmandu, including a police officer who was hacked to death.
The Tharu protesters are demanding greater rights and an autonomous state in a new constitution being drafted by Nepal’s Constituent Assembly. (AP)
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