KATHMANDU, Sept 21: Communal unrest in southern Nepal is worsening and authorities need to act quickly to prevent all-out violence in the ethnically tense region, police and rights activists said on Friday.

The unrest in the Indian border district of Kapilvastu erupted after the murder this week of local Muslim politician Mohid Khan, who headed an anti-Maoist vigilante group during Nepal’s civil war.

Police said the clashes in the impoverished Terai lowlands had left at least 22 people dead, while Maoists accused the country’s embattled monarchy — which they are trying to oust — of stirring up the unrest.

“People are being terrorised. The attacks are taking the shape of communal violence,” district police deputy superintendent Kuber Kadayat said.

“The death toll could rise still further as police are yet to reach remote villages where there have been reports of violent clashes in the past few days,” said another local official, Narendra Dahal.—AFP