Several towns in Nepal under curfew after sectarian violence

Several towns in southeastern Nepal remained under curfew on Friday as the region grappled with lingering tensions after days of sectarian violence that erupted on Sunday and left at least three people dead, authorities said.

Twenty-five people were injured in a late-night clash on Sunday between Hindus and Muslims in Diwanganj, a town in Nepal's Sunsari district bordering India, with officials saying the violence was triggered by a dispute over loud music and religious flags during a Hindu event.

Two men were shot and killed in Sunsari on Sunday and a third death was reported in neighbouring Siraha district on Thursday as sporadic clashes continued in the area. Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said the incidents were under investigation.

There was no violence on Friday, police said, but an indefinite curfew was in place in several towns to prevent any recurrence.

Nepal's Gen Z-backed Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged people on Thursday for calm and to remove the "cloud of turbulence" from the Himalayan nation.

"The government will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the violence and punish those responsible for the trouble in a transparent way," Shah said in a rare, televised address to the nation.

The country's Home Minister Sudan Gurung met the families of the two killed in Sunsari and agreed to provide about $6,660 in relief to each late on Thursday, the government said in a statement.

Gurung was also expected to go to Siraha on Friday and meet the family of the third person who was killed.