Three dead in Nepal after Maoist splinter groups clash

NEPAL: At least three people were killed in clashes between two splinter groups of Maoists in southeastern Nepal, police said Monday.

The two groups have intensified their violence in the Terai region after the Maoists ended a decade-long insurgency that claimed at least 13,000 lives.

"Three people of the Mahadeshi ethnic community belonging to Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Jwala Singh) were shot dead by rival group Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Goit) at Madhuwapur village on Saturday afternoon," said police superintendent Subhash Chand Chaudhary, of Rajbiraj town, 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Kathmandu.

Activists from the Goit group followed supporters of Jwala Singh group on motorcycles and opened fire after initial scuffles with the group, he added.

The JTMM (Goit), which broke away from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) two years ago, has been launching anti-Maoist protests in the southern plains bordering India.

Kathmandu, Tuesday, AFP