Nepal's government says it will ask the United Nations to continue its mission monitoring a peace process that ended the country's 10-year communist rebellion.
Authorities announced Thursday that Nepal will ask the U.N. to extend its presence by six months after a peace-monitoring mandate expires in July.
Police and Maoist demonstrators clashed in Nepal's capital earlier this month, during a strike called by activists to protest the killing of a local leader.
The Young Communist League called the strike, which brought Kathmandu to a standstill. Schools and shops closed while protesters burned tires and forced vehicles off the road. Officials said police fired tear gas to try to disperse stone-throwing protesters.