Police Shoot, Kill 3 Protesters in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Police opened fire on protesters in two southern Nepalese towns on Sunday, killing at least three people and wounding several more, police and a news report said, bringing the death toll from recent demonstrations to at least 19.

Protesters fired on police in Malangawa town, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, prompting police to return fire, killing two activists, said police official Madhav Joshi.

The main group organizing the protests rejected the police claim, saying the demonstrators were unarmed and that the rally was peaceful until the police arrived.

"These allegations are baseless. Our supporters have been hunted down by the security forces and killed even after the curfew was lifted," said Amresh Narayan Jha, a spokesman for the Madeshi People's Rights Forum.

Another protester was killed in Birgunj city, just west of Malangawa, in a separate clash between security forces and demonstrators, independent Kantipur television reported.

Protesters have been staging sometimes violent demonstrations since Jan. 19 to demand greater autonomy, more seats in the national legislature and a guaranteed number of slots in the administration for representatives from the Himalayan nation's south.

Clashes have left at least 18 protesters and a policeman dead.

Meanwhile, the United Nations' human rights office in Nepal asked Nepalese security forces to stop using unnecessary force in the clashes with protesters.

Urgent measures need to be taken to stop the violence and prevent more casualties, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal said in a statement.