Several towns in Nepal under curfew after sectarian violence
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Smoke and fire rise from a mall after it was vandalised following a clash between two communities in Siraha, Nepal on July 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KATHMANDU – Several towns in south-eastern Nepal remained under curfew on July 31 as the region grappled with lingering tensions after days of sectarian violence that erupted on July 26 and left at least three people dead, the authorities said.
Twenty-five people were injured in a late-night clash on July 26 between Hindus and Muslims in Diwanganj, a town in Nepal’s Sunsari district bordering India, with officials saying the violence was triggered by a dispute over loud music and religious flags during a Hindu event.
Two men were shot and killed in Sunsari on July 26 and a third death was reported in neighbouring Siraha district on July 30 as sporadic clashes continued in the area. Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said the incidents were under investigation.
There was no violence on July 31, police said, but an indefinite curfew was in place in several towns to prevent any recurrence.
Nepal’s Gen Z-backed Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged people on July 30 for calm and to remove the “cloud of turbulence” from the Himalayan nation.
“The government will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the violence and punish those responsible for the trouble in a transparent way,” Shah said in a rare, televised address to the nation.
The country’s Home Minister Sudan Gurung met the families of the two killed in Sunsari and agreed to provide about US$6,660 (S$8,500) in relief to each late on July 30, the government said in a statement.
Gurung was also expected to go to Siraha on July 31 and meet the family of the third person who was killed. REUTERS
