A curfew was imposed Monday in the Nepalese capital as violence flared across the city, with police ordered to shoot violators who resisted arrest, the Home Ministry announced.
The ministry directive, broadcast on state radio and television, said the curfew had been imposed as of 3:30 p.m. (0945 GMT) and also covered the neighboring towns of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
Anyone found on the streets during the curfew would receive a police warning to stop before the police opened fire, the ministry said.
The curfew will initially last until 5:00 am Tuesday (2345 GMT Monday), at which time shops were directed to open early to allow people to stock up on groceries, it said, indicating that the order could be reimposed at any time.
Those arrested for violating the curfew would face a month in prison, the ministry added.
The order meant that people would not be allowed to attend the state funeral later in the day of King Dipendra, who died Monday morning just two days after acceding to the throne.
Dipendra was named king on Saturday, after allegedly killing his father King Birendra and the rest of the immediate royal family at a dinner gathering the night before.
The funeral procession to the cremation site on the banks of the holy Bagmati river was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. (1015 GMT) -- KATHMANDU (AFP)
