NEPAL’S capital was all but cut off from the rest of the country yesterday after Maoist rebels threatened to attack any vehicles travelling into or out of Kathmandu.

All roads leading through the hills to the capital were deserted as the blockade began. Buses, lorries and cars stayed off the highway, cutting off all food and supplies.

The only way in or out of Kathmandu was to fly, an option available to few other than wealthy tourists. Hundreds of people were stranded as bus services out of the city ground to a halt.

Many tourists travelling elsewhere in the country rushed back to the capital as the deadline for the indefinite blockade drew closer, afraid that they could be trapped in the countryside.

There were no reports of any rebel barriers across the roads leading in and out of the city, a mark of how potent the threat of violence has become. The rebels are said to be monitoring the roads and have vowed that the blockade will go on indefinitely until the Government releases jailed rebels.

But many see this blockade, coming a day after the rebels forced the closure of ten multinational companies in Kathmandu, as a powerful show of Maoist force aimed at pressing the Government into accepting their demands.

Authorities refuse to say how many rebels are in detention. Nepalese law allows soldiers to detain rebel suspects for 90 days without charge, but human rights groups claim that many are kept much longer. Peace talks with the rebels, who are fighting to dislodge the Himalayan kingdom’s monarchy, broke down after their demands for a constitutional review.

Soldiers from the Royal Nepalese Army patrolled a checkpoint on the mountain road linking Kathmandu with India yesterday.

Military lorries escorted a few buses and taxis braving the road, the capital’s lifeline along which 90 per cent of its supplies are ferried.

Kathmandu valley has no rail links, and the 1.5 million people living there depend on lorries for fuel, food and supplies.

Military officials dismissed the blockade as “propaganda” aimed at scaring people. But the fear had not been allayed. Maoists frequently call transport strikes in parts of the country, during which anyone driving on the road is open to attack.

One lorry carrying building bricks into the capital had its licence plates covered. “I am scared,” the driver said. “They may take note of the truck today and attack later. That is why I have covered the numberplates.”

The rebels are fighting to establish a communist state in the desperately poor Himalayan kingdom and control large swaths of the countryside. The tightly guarded capital is seen as less vulnerable to their attacks, but Maoist activity has been drawing ever closer to the city.

“The Maoists are now targeting Kathmandu to show their strength,” the widely read Nepalese magazine, Himal, said. Just two days before the blockade, there were two bomb attacks on a luxury hotel after its management refused to comply with the rebels’ demands to shut down. It did so the next day, together with nine other leading businesses.

Rebels have in the past set alight dozens of vehicles and planted mines on roads to enforce blockades.

They said last week that they would attack vehicles for an indefinite period beginning yesterday.

Earlier in the day, a bomb exploded in a busy market in southern Nepal, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding six other people, including three policemen. Officials suspect that communist rebels were responsible.

The Maoist revolt, which began in 1996, has cost more than 10,000 lives and has had a devastating impact on the economy in a country dependent on tourism and aid. It is one of the ten poorest countries in the world.

The last round of peace talks broke down last August after rebels walked out, accusing the Government of failing to meet their demands. The Government has repeatedly urged the rebels to resume peace talks since taking office in June, but the rebels have not responded.

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