Nepal urges citizens to quit Iraq

By Sanjeev Srivastava
BBC, Delhi

The hostage crisis sparked riots in Kathmandu

Nepal has asked it citizens to leave Iraq after 12 Nepalese hostages were killed there by Islamic militants earlier this week.

Their execution-style killing was recorded by the extremists and posted on a website.

Even the Nepalese government does not know how many of its citizens could still be in Iraq.

The government banned Nepalese workers from going there more than a year ago because of safety concerns.

But a lack of employment opportunities back home meant that private recruitment agencies continued to send Nepalese workers to Iraq through countries like Jordan and Kuwait.

Calm restored

According to the Nepalese Foreign Minister, Prakash Sharan Mahat, several thousand Nepalese could still be working there.

They have been asked to leave Iraq at the earliest opportunity, and contact the Nepalese embassies in neighbouring countries.

The Nepalese government has faced much criticism from opposition groups blaming it for not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages.

Meanwhile, the capital Kathmandu now appears to be under control.

A shoot-on-sight curfew was imposed after the news of the hostage killings sparked widespread riots four days ago.

Two people were killed as angry demonstrators targeted a mosque, some government buildings the offices of employment agencies.

Residents came out in large numbers on Saturday to shop for food and other essential goods, as the curfew was relaxed for eight hours, without incident.