UN arms monitors arrive in Nepal
The first group of UN arms monitors has arrived in Nepal to manage the weapons of Maoist guerrillas and the government army as part of a peace deal between the two sides, a top UN envoy said on Friday.
Ian Martin, personal representative of the UN secretary-general to the Himalayan nation's peace process, said six monitors arrived on Thursday and they would be part of a team of around 35 people pledged by the world body.
"A first task will be registration, initially of weapons and then of combatants," Martin told reporters. "They will be operational from Jan. 7."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The UN says a full monitoring mission will take some time to be in place and has not set a deadline.
Last month, the government and the Maoists signed a landmark peace deal declaring an end to a decade-old revolt in which more than 13,000 people have been killed.