KATHMANDU, Feb 12 Kyodo An antigo...

KATHMANDU, Feb 12 Kyodo

An antigovernment strike called at rebels shut down Nepal's capital Kathmandu and business and industrial districts in the southward of the country upon Thursday.

Warring Maoist rebels called the dawn-to-dusk strike in succession the eve of the eighth anniversary of their rebellion to attest ''the brutality of control troops'' targeting them.

Business and educational institutions were clos and security was tight in the capital. Vehicles stayed chiefly off the streets.

In pre-strike acts of violence, rebels risk off bombs in several places in the capital, causing damage to peculiarity officials said.

The rebels took up arms against the control in an attempt to overset Nepal's constitutional monarchy and replace it with an autocratic communist state.

The insurgency, which began in 1996 has left more than 9000 populace dead, according to government figures.

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