The Nepalese government Monday extended a curfew to cover all seven refugee camps as a second Bhutanese refugee died in a day of clashes with Nepalese police, DPA reported. Police said 20-year-old Bhutanese refugee Purna Bahadur Tamang, died after being struck by a rubber bullet during rioting in Beldangi camp in Jhapa district, about 400 kilometres east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Police said irate mobs of refugees broke curfew orders and attacked them, forcing officers to fire in self defence. At least seven refugees and 14 police officers were injured in the clashes. Police earlier Monday said two officers had been shot by refugees. The death is the second since Sunday evening when violence first erupted. On Sunday, a 16-year-old refugee youth died in police shooting when refugees attacked officers who had gone to the camp to settle a dispute between rival factions. The government imposed an indefinite curfew on Beldangi refugee camps on Monday morning which was later extended to cover all seven refugee camps in two districts in eastern Nepal. The United Nations refugee agency meanwhile, expressed its concerns over the escalating violence. "We are alarmed by this incident and deeply regret the tragic death despite efforts by the police to quell the unrest in the camp," said Abraham Abraham, UNHCR Representative in Nepal. "This is a disturbing state of affairs and I earnestly call upon all refugees and concerned parties to resolve the matter peacefully," added Abraham. UNHCR again appealed to the refugees to abide by the laws of the country. The UN refugee agency also said a prolongation of the deteriorating security situation in the camps could affect its humanitarian operation, as well as the smooth delivery of food in the camps by the UN World Food Programme. According to the United Nations, there are just over 104,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, most of them of Nepalese origin. The refugees who first arrived in Nepal in the early 1990s accused the Bhutanese government of persecuting them on the basis of their cultural, lingual and religious differences.
