King Gyanendra of Nepal yesterday declared a state of emergency and ordered the army out for the first time to crush Maoist guerrillas fighting to topple the monarchy after the worst violence in five years.
The crackdown by King Gyanendra, who became king in June after most other members of the royal family were slain in a palace massacre, followed a request by the government to impose the emergency after rebels stormed police and army posts over the weekend.
Authorities said more than 100 people had died over the past three days when Maoist guerrillas abandoned a July truce and stormed security positions in the east and west of the kingdom.
Some civil liberties were also suspended, including the freedom of assembly and restrictions on the media.
Soon after the state of emergency was imposed, state radio reported the king had ordered the army out to fight the Maoists.
The violence was the worst since the Maoists began their drive to install a communist republic five years ago. At least 45 people were killed on Friday and Saturday in a rash of attacks by rebels on security posts.
On Sunday, more than 80 people died, many of them rebels, when hundreds of guerrillas stormed an airport control tower, two banks, private homes and an army barracks in Sallery, government officials said.