Nepal appoints new army chief
Nepal's government appointed a new acting army chief after controversial army general Rukmangad Katawal formally retired from his post, officials said Sunday.
Katawal, whose three-year tenure expires on September 9, was at the centre of a controversy that led to the fall of the Maoist-led government.
Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal -- who goes by the name Prachanda -- resigned as prime minister in May after just eight months when the president overruled his decision to sack Katawal.
"The cabinet has appointed General Chhatraman Singh Gurung as the new acting army chief of the Nepal Army after accepting Katawal's application for a month-long leave before retirement," said Bhim Rawal, minister of home affairs.
The showdown between the ultra leftist and the military, who fought with each other during the decade long insurgency, cast a shadow over the already faltering peace process launched when the war ended in 2006.
Analysts say the new development could ease tensions between the Maoists and the army.
The dispute between the army and the Maoists centres around Maoist demands that their former rebel fighters, who are currently confined to United Nations-supervised camps, be fully integrated into the regular army.
The Maoists ended their bloody decade-long "people's war" in 2006, and won landmark elections last year before swiftly ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.
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