(9 May 2010)
1. Various of riot police firing tear gas shells at Maoist supporters
2. Protesters running
3. Wide of riot police chasing protesters with bamboo batons and firing tear gas
4. Police firing tear gas
5. Tracking shot of vehicle damaged in protest
6. Cameraman walking past with head injury
7. Maoist lawmaker in wheelchair being moved to safety after clashes
8. Wide of police, tear gas dispersing in distance
9. Street with damaged vehicles
10. Low angle of police, broken bricks in foreground
STORYLINE:
Nepalese police clashed on Sunday with thousands of Maoist supporters who were demonstrating outside the government's main offices in the capital, Katmandu.
Police fired several dozen tear gas shells on the protesters who had gathered on Sunday to block Singhdurar, the complex which houses the offices of the prime minister and main government departments.
The protesters threw stones at the police and set government vehicles on fire.
There were reports that some protesters had beaten up pedestrians and television cameramen.
Police and protesters were injured in the clash.
Thousands of police in riot gear had been posted from early on Sunday to guard the complex, and security was tight after a mass Maoist demonstration on Saturday, and a promise of more to come on Sunday.
The clashes follow the end on Saturday of a six-day strike called by the former communist rebels which had crippled business in the capital and caused growing resentment among the populace.
Residents on Saturday rushed to the local markets to buy fresh vegetables and fruit, while buses took thousands of people stranded by the strike to their destinations, and some banks opened their doors to customers.
Transportation, schools and businesses had been closed in Katmandu and other cities since May 2 during the strike aimed at pushing out the present coalition government.
Opposition to the strike had been increasing, and police fired warning shots at a rally on Friday to control clashes between Maoist supporters and opponents.
The top leaders of the Maoist party had decided late on Friday to end the strike since it was making life difficult, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal told reporters.
The decision followed growing protests against the Maoists and pressure from the government and Western diplomats.
Some 20,000 people rallied in central Katmandu on Friday to pressure the Maoists. There were similar
protests in other parts of the country.
The Maoists - who gave up their armed struggle in 2006 - traditionally back strike calls with the threat of violence against those who defy them, and their supporters have tried to forcibly shut shops that owners opened for business.
The Maoists - who joined the political process in 2006 under a peace deal - won the country's most recent elections, but a dispute split their coalition, forcing their government to disband and ushering in the current leaders.
The Maoists now want power back, but the government has refused to step aside.
The crisis had raised fears of renewed bloodshed after the insurgency claimed an estimated 13,000 lives over a decade.
The unrest comes as Nepal's Constituent Assembly, elected to draw up a new constitution, struggles to draft the charter before its term expires May 28.
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