Nepal Prime Minister resigns

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced his resignation Monday after an attempt by his Government to sack the head of the Army was blocked by the President.

"I have resigned from the post of Prime Minister from today for the protection of democracy and peace," Dahal said in a televised address to the nation.

Nepal Government fired General Rookmangud Katawal for refusing to integrate former Maoist rebel soldiers into the regular Army under the terms of a 2006 peace deal that ended a decade of civil war.

But President Ram Baran Yadav, a member of the main opposition party, has told the head of the Army, traditionally a bastion of Nepal's elite and the former monarchy to stay put.

"The move by the President is an attack on this infant democracy and the peace process," Dahal said, accusing the President of having taken an "unconstitutional and undemocratic decision."

"The interim Constitution does not give any right to the President to act as a parallel power," he said.

AFP