Deadlock eases over Nepal Maoists

Maoist protesters have threatened to return to the streets

Political parties in Nepal have agreed to rehabilitate Maoist ex-fighters into civilian life or integrate them into the national army within six months.

The BBC correspondent in Kathmandu says many hope the move will kick-start Nepal's stalled peace process.

Some 19,000 Maoist former combatants are currently living in UN-supervised camps throughout the country.

Disagreements over what to do with them led to the resignation of the Maoist government in May.

The Maoists won Nepal's first democratic election last year.

A special committee set up to deal with the issue of Maoist former fighters said it would complete its task before March 2010.

Integrating the ex-fighters into Nepal's national army or rehabilitating them back into civilian life is part of the 2006 peace deal which ended 10 years of civil conflict, the BBC's Joanna Jolly in Kathmandu says.

But the peace process has stalled in recent months over disagreements as to how many Maoists should join the national army - and whether they should be recruited en masse or individually.

However, Maoist representatives on the special committee say they are now committed to finding a solution to the stalemate, our correspondent says.