According to Nepal Samacharpatra daily, an Indian national, Nripad Kumar Parpeji of Nagpur, died when Maoist insurgents in plain clothes opened fire at an army-escorted convoy at Charaudi. Passengers traveling on other vehicles were also injured during the indiscriminate firing, the news report said. According to Kantipur daily, at least one dozen passengers were injured when Maoist insurgents opened fire at a passenger bus belonging to Machhapuchhre bus service. Military policemen are also said to have been injured during the offensive. Details were not available. In a separate incident, at least three people including two government employee were injured when improvised explosives abandoned by Maoists exploded at the gate of Neaplgunj Medical College, a private institution, in the mid-western town of Nepalgunj Sunday night. The injured are undergoing treatment at the same college The insurgents had caused explosions at nearly over a dozen targets Sunday night including district court, electricity office, technical school and a government-run school. In yet another incident, two youths got injured in an explosion when they were trying to remove obstructions set up by suspected Maoists along the Mahendra highway near Lamahi in mid-western district of Dang Saturday. The highway remains deserted for the last several days. Experts say it is against the Geneva Convention to target civilians, medical and educational facilities during the time of war or insurgencies. During her visit to Nepal last month (23-26 January), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour, said, ?Irreparable harm is being caused, in large part, by the means through which the Maoists seek to advance their cause. Many of those means are unconscionable and contrary to fundamental human rights and international humanitarian laws.? Arbour warned the Maoist leadership not to behave as if ?they could operate outside of the law.? She also urged both the Nepal government and Maoist insurgents to sign the draft Human Rights Accord prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) mainly to avoid civilian casualties and accept the Commission monitoring role to see if the Accord is being implemented in true sense. nepalnews.com by Feb 21 05