Maoist rebels in Nepal have reportedly told one of the country’s top tourist resorts to close down indefinitely – or face the consequences.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Tiger Tops resort and 34 other businesses have been ordered to close by the rebels; the Maoists have already made clear that they mean business by bombing the Malla Hotel in the capital Kathmandu and forcing the closure of at least a dozen other businesses.
A spokesman for the resort, which is close to the Chitwan national park, said: “You don’t take these things likely. If the threat isn’t lifted tomorrow then we will have to close. We haven’t a clue why we have been targeted but Tiger Tops has always been quite a high-profile company.” The Telegraph reports that the resort is popular with high-profile guests including Prince Philip, Henry Kissinger and Mick Jagger.
The resort has reportedly been the target of two previous attacks; a bomb exploded in its Kathmandu office in 2002, while this April the control tower at the resort’s airfield was destroyed by guerrillas.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
