KATHMANDU, Jul 27, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- At least 16 civilians were injured, four of them seriously, when anti-government guerrillas hurled socket bombs at a public gathering in farwestern Nepal on Monday, local police office said Wednesday.
The guerrillas had forced the locals for the gathering to listen to their speech at Kadamandu Lower Secondary School, 28 km east of Dipayal, the Doti district headquarters, local police office said in a press statement.
The incident occurred after locals tried to rescue a person who was being beaten by the guerrillas, the statement noted.
The locals during confrontation nabbed four guerrillas and then handed them over to the security forces at the district headquarters, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, at least 150 locals have reached district headquarters fearing of reprisal by the guerrillas in the village, the statement added.
Over 12,000 Nepalese people have been killed since the anti- government insurgency took place in the Himalayan kingdom in February 1996.