Kathmandu - One person was killed and three were injured in
a powerful explosion that ripped through a market in southern Nepal,
police said Sunday.
The explosion was caused by a time bomb at a market in Karmaiaya
village of Ratauhat district, about 100 kilometres south of the
Nepalese capital Kathmandu, on Sunday afternoon, the police said.
The explosion killed a vegetable seller and also caused damage to
a section of the market. A group calling itself Terai Army claimed
responsibility for the blast.
Independent Radio Kantipur radio said a central member of the
armed rebel group had telephoned its correspondent in southern Nepal
to claim responsibility for the blast.
The group has been involved in a string of bomb attacks in
southern Nepal to press its demands for autonomy in the southern
Nepalese plains known as Terai.
There are nearly two dozen armed rebel groups operating in Terai
with demands ranging for greater rights for ethnic Madhesi community
to autonomous state for the region with the right to self
determination.
In October, the Nepalese government called on rebel groups for
peace talks to end violence in the region.
However, less than half a dozen groups have accepted the
government offer and only a few of them have actually held talks with
the government.
The armed groups have been blamed for over 150 deaths since the
beginning of 2007. They have also been accused of intimidating
people, extortion and abduction of people opposed to them.
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