KATMANDU, Nepal, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Maoist rebels in Nepal have ordered 11 major employers in the country to shut down under threat of attack, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The rebels also threatened to block roads linking Katmandu with the rest of the country beginning Wednesday in protest of alleged repression of their supporters by government forces.
A leading tobacco company, Surya Nepal Private Ltd., announced Tuesday it would heed the order and shut down.
Meanwhile, the last of the tourists left the luxury Soaltee Crowne Plaza hotel in Katmandu after a bomb attack on Monday. No one was injured.
Police suspect the Maoists planted the bomb after the hotel defied the warning to close.
The rebels have waged an armed struggle since 1996 to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.
At least 9,000 people have died in violence between the rebels and the security forces since then.
