Nepal advertises for new weapons

Nepal's army has a long list of weapons requirements

Authorities in Nepal have advertised in a newspaper for international arms distributors to provide weapons.

The advertisement in the state-run Rising Nepal on Saturday asked for "various military and civil goods".

The move follows a suspension in arms supplies by countries such as the US and Britain.

The suspensions were imposed after King Gyanendra seized direct power in February, saying politicians had failed to tackle the Maoist insurgency.

'Routine'

The Royal Nepalese Army said it was looking for various types of arms, ammunition and explosives, armoured personnel carriers, tanks, aircraft, helicopter gunships, communications equipment, optical instruments and security equipment.

King Gyanendra assumed direct control of Nepal on 1 February

The army did not detail the quantity of arms it needed or how much money it was going to spend.

An army spokesman told the BBC the advertisement was routine.

Brig Gen Dipak Kumar Gurung said the current financial year would end in mid-July and the army was asking foreign-based arms suppliers to enlist with it.

Major supplier countries imposed their arms suspension after the king's takeover, saying it was a setback to democracy.

One leading supplier, India, recently said it would lift its suspension, but has not yet supplied new weapons.

On Friday a Nepali newspaper reported that China had supplied Nepal with five armoured personnel carriers.

King Gyanendra has said his takeover was essential to stop the country sliding further into chaos.

However, opposition parties say the law and order and human rights situations have worsened.

They have launched a nationwide protest demanding the restoration of parliament and civil liberties.