Nepal blockade enters second day

Troops on patrol near the capital

Traffic on two major highways linking Kathmandu with the rest of Nepal has come to a virtual halt on the second day of a rebel-imposed blockade.

The Maoist rebels are protesting against alleged human rights abuses by the security forces.

On Thursday at least 34 people - mainly rebels, but also some soldiers and civilians - were killed in a clash.

At least 100 people are reported to have died in violence in Nepal in the past week.

The BBC's Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu says there has been no visible presence of rebels on the highways, but fear of reprisals are keeping most vehicles off the road.

Earlier this week the rebels torched 18 cargo trucks.

Fear of shortages

Hundreds of people are queuing up outside petrol stations in Kathmandu, fearing fuel shortages in the coming days.

"I don't want to take a chance and want to fill the fuel tank of my motorcycle," motorist Gopendra Bahadur Pandey told Reuters news agency.

The authorities insist there is no need for any panic buying.

Transport operators also say they will stay off the roads unless they are satisfied of their safety.

"We'll not run until there is a convincing security guarantee," the head of the Nepal Goods Carriers' Association said.

But Nepal's home ministry said security forces had been deployed along the highways.

"The situation is expected to significantly improve by late Friday," a ministry spokesman said.

UN concern

Nepal has witnessed an upsurge of violence in the past few months.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate end to the fighting and expressed concern at reports of human rights abuses.

The Nepalese government has set a deadline of 13 January for the Maoists to come to the negotiating table.

Peace talks failed last year, since when violence has risen.

More than 10,000 people have died in Nepal's conflict since the Maoists began their fight to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.