Hundreds of protesters torched vehicles and vandalised shops in western Nepal on Saturday after three people died in clashes between police and illegal forest settlers, a human rights group said. Nepal's Human Rights Commission urged the government to immediately investigate the violence that erupted as police tried to remove thousands of illegal squatters in a forest in Kailali district, about 400 miles (640 kilometres) west of the capital, Katmandu, on Friday.
Hundreds of policemen were mobilised to keep order in the district after the deaths sparked protests Saturday, including by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the former communist rebels, who have called for a nation-wide general strike on Sunday. Police said three people, including a policeman, were killed in the clashes on Friday. News reports said as many as five people could have died. Friday's violence erupted as police tried to remove the settlers and tear down their temporary huts, according to police. The settlers lynched one policeman, and police retaliated by firing at them and killing at least two.
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