Several towns in Nepal under curfew after sectarian violence


Smoke and fire rise from a mall after it was vandalised following a clash between two communities in Siraha, Nepal, July 30, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer

KATHMANDU, July ⁠31 (Reuters) - Several towns in southeastern Nepal remained under curfew on ⁠Friday as the region grappled with lingering tensions after ‌days of sectarian violence that erupted on Sunday and left at least three people dead, authorities said.

Twenty-five people were injured in a late-night clash on Sunday between ​Hindus and Muslims in Diwanganj, a town ⁠in Nepal's Sunsari district bordering ⁠India, with officials saying the violence was triggered by a dispute over ⁠loud ‌music and religious flags during a Hindu event.

Two men were shot and killed in Sunsari on Sunday and a ⁠third death was reported in neighbouring Siraha district ​on Thursday as ‌sporadic clashes continued in the area. Police spokesperson Abi Narayan ⁠Kafle said ​the incidents were under investigation.

There was no violence on Friday, police said, but an indefinite curfew was in place in several towns to prevent ⁠any recurrence.

Nepal's Gen Z-backed Prime Minister Balendra ​Shah urged people on Thursday for calm and to remove the "cloud of turbulence" from the Himalayan nation.

"The government will conduct a fair and impartial ⁠investigation into the violence and punish those responsible for the trouble in a transparent way," Shah said in a rare, televised address to the nation.

The country's Home Minister Sudan Gurung met the families ​of the two killed in Sunsari and ⁠agreed to provide about $6,660 in relief to each late on Thursday, the ​government said in a statement.

Gurung was ‌also expected to go to Siraha on ​Friday and meet the family of the third person who was killed.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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