KATMANDU, Nepal: Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the reinstatement of eight top army generals who were removed by the country's communist ruling party, which is seeking to integrate its former rebels into the military, a court official said Wednesday.
Supreme Court official Ram Krishna Timsina said the order was issued to the government late Tuesday by Judge Kalyan Shrestha.
There was no immediate response from the government.
The court order is a blow for the coalition government led by the Maoists, former communist rebels who fought the army in a 10-year rebellion.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who leads the Maoist party, refused last week to extend the tenure of the brigadier generals, saying it was his right to make the decision. The army filed a petition against the decision to the Supreme Court.
Differences between the army and the government have deepened over the integration of thousands of former Maoist fighters into the security forces as part of a peace process that ended the conflict.
The Maoists want the ex-fighters to be integrated into the army, with their commanders given senior positions, while the army has opposed the idea.
The Maoists gave up their armed revolt in 2006 and joined a peace process. They confined their fighters in U.N.-monitored camps and locked up their weapons. They joined elections last year and emerged as Nepal's largest political party.
Source: International Herald Tribune
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