Nepal grave site raises concerns

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Finnish experts are helping Nepalese authorities in investigating a suspected mass grave site in Lalitpur, outside Kathmandu, Gorkhapatra-RSS reported.

The site is in the Shivapuri National Park and its discovery in December has raised concerns whether the remains are of those who disappeared during the decade-long army crackdown of the Maoist insurgency aimed at bringing down the 228-year-old monarchy in the Himalayan kingdom.

The BBC reported the site is believed to contain the remains of as many as 49 people.

The rebellion against King Gyanendra ended in 2006 through a U.N. peace initiative. Some 13,000 were killed in the conflict and both the Maoists and royal security forces have been accused of atrocities, the BBC report said.

Many of those arrested by the security forces disappeared.

National Human Rights Commission spokesman Gauri Pradhan told Gorkhapatra the Finnish forensic experts, Professors Helena Ranta and Pekka Saukko were sent to Nepal under a U.N. initiative. The two reportedly have experience in human remains excavations in Iraq and many African countries.