Authorities in Nepal have extended an indefinite curfew to parts of Saptari district on Friday, as communal tensions continue to grip the country’s southern Terai region following clashes that have claimed three lives.
The district administration office of Nepal imposed the restriction in Rajbiraj municipality from 8am as a precautionary measure following protests.
This expansion brings the total number of districts facing curfew orders to four, joining Sunsari, Dhanusha, and Siraha, where security forces are struggling to maintain order.
In a rare televised address to the nation on Thursday, Prime Minister of Nepal Balendra Shah appealed for “peace, harmony, brotherhood and national unity” to “remove the clouds of unrest.”
Shah, who has maintained a low public profile since taking office in March, promised a “completely fair and transparent” investigation into the violence, pledging that those responsible would be held accountable.
Nepal’s Home Minister Sudan Gurung, met with the families of two victims in Sunsari late on Thursday, where he agreed to provide approximately $6,660 in relief to each family.
Gurung was scheduled to travel to Siraha on Friday to meet the family of a teenager who died during clashes in that district on Thursday.
Recent reports indicate that the unrest has spread to Madhesh province. On Thursday night, a police constable, Narad Pariyar, was shot in the thigh by an unidentified assailant in Lahan municipality, Siraha.
He is currently undergoing treatment in Biratnagar. This followed a day of violence in Siraha where a mall was vandalised and set on fire by protesters.
In response to the volatility along the border, the district security committee in Sarlahi has made it mandatory for individuals entering Nepal from across the border to carry valid identity documents.
Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle said security personnel are on high alert to protect public property and prevent further conflict with minimal use of force.
The current wave of violence originated on Sunday in the town of Diwanganj, Sunsari district.
The unrest was triggered by a dispute between members of Hindu and Muslim communities over the use of loudspeakers and the display of religious flags during a Hindu programme.
A verbal altercation escalated into a physical clash, prompting police to open fire to disperse the groups, which resulted in the first two fatalities and more than a dozen injuries. While no new violence was reported on Friday morning, indefinite curfews remain in place across several towns to prevent a recurrence of the sectarian strife.
