Curfew in Nepal As Murders Spark Riot

A curfew was imposed on Kathmandu last night, with orders to shoot people on sight, after thousands of demonstrators ransacked a mosque and fought pitched battles with police to protest at the killing of 12 Nepalese hostages by insurgents in Iraq.

The rioters attacked the capital's main mosque, set fire to offices of Arab airlines and ransacked the premises of employment agencies offering work in the Middle East. Also attacked were television stations, including one owned by a prominent Muslim.

Police used batons and tear gas to control the mob, which chanted "Down with Islam".

Protesters stormed inside the mosque, set furniture and carpets on fire and tore up a copy of the Qur'an, before police drove them out.

Police clamped an indefinite curfew on the capital and later fired on a group of people who had gathered in the centre of the city in defiance, killing one man, an official said.

Commentators accused hardline Hindu groups of stoking up anger at the killings. CK Lal, a columnist with Himal magazine, said: "The government appeared incapable of controlling the situation. What you then saw were rightwing Hindu groups seizing the opportunity, with provocative acts and slogans."

The protests erupted late on Tuesday after news that the 12 hostages had been slain by militants who accusing them of cooperating with American forces.The young men, who came from the poorest strata of Nepalese society, had expected to make £280 a month in Iraq as cooks and cleaners.

The government has declared today a national day of mourning.

King Gyanendra urged people of different faiths to stay calm in a country already torn by a Maoist revolt. "We must ensure that this tragic incident does not weaken the age-old fraternal ties, unity and mutual tolerance that exists among the Nepalese people," the palace said in a statement.