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KATHMANDU, Feb 5 (AFP): A general strike called by Maoist rebels to disrupt controversial elections this week brought Nepali towns to a standstill but had little immediate effect in the capital Sunday, witnesses said.
The rebels-who want to depose King Gyanendra and turn the poverty-stricken Himalayan country into a communist state-called the week-long strike to disrupt Wednesday's scheduled local elections.
The guerrillas are believed to have killed two candidates and have pledged to step up attacks in the run-up to polling day.
The royal government, which has been rocked by recent street protests, has told Nepalis to ignore the strike call and threatened to arrest those who try to stop businesses from opening or who vandalise property.
In the capital, most people appeared to heed the warning Sunday. Fewer taxis and buses were on the streets, but many businesses decided to open.
In the capital, the government had commandeered around 500 vehicles to break the strike, private media reported, but by Sunday morning there was no need to use them as motorcycles, cars and taxis were all plying the streets.
Nepal's capital and the surrounding Kathmandu valley have generally been shielded from the climate of insecurity and fear the decade-old insurgency has created elsewhere in the country.
But on occasion Maoist strikes and blockades have paralysed the ancient capital of 1.5 million people and disrupted the delivery of goods. Military convoys have accompanied vehicles to prevent rebel attacks.
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