Nepalese police have arrested a top opposition leader in the capital, Kathmandu, and Maoist rebels have opened fire at a busy marketplace in southern Nepal, wounding three people.
Officials in Bara district, where the Maoist attack took place Thursday, say the rebels fired indiscriminately. They wounded a policeman, a journalist and a health worker.
At least 38 people have been killed in clashes between rebels and security forces over the past week.
Also Thursday, authorities stormed the home of the secretary-general of the Communist Party, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and took him away. The arrest followed a raid on his home a day earlier by armed police who seized phones, communication equipment and documents.
Security forces placed Nepal under house arrest in mid-January during a government crackdown on opposition activists to prevent anti-government protests.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
