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Nepal defies shoot-on-sight curfewFrom Satinder Bindra  A policeman fires rubber bullets at demonstrators in Kathmandu. RELATED
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSKATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Nepal security police have opened fire on protesters in the Nepalese capital -- injuring dozens -- on the sixth day of demonstrations calling on the country's king to step down from power. Police fired up to 70 rounds of ammunition on Tuesday as the protesters burned an effigy of King Gyanendra, according to local reporters. Since the nationwide protests began last Thursday, three of the pro-democracy demonstrators have been killed. (Watch as the protests turn violent -- 2:05) A 9-year-old child was also wounded on Monday as police beat back the protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas. The protests were called by major political parties to demand that the king give up the power he seized in February 2005. The United States is also demanding King Gyanendra loosen his grip on power and "begin a dialogue" with the country's political parties, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday. "The demonstrations, deaths, arrests and Maoist attacks in the past few days have shown there is more insecurity, not less," McCormack said. "The king's continuing failure to bring the parties back into a process to restore democracy has compounded the problem." McCormack said the U.S. believed the king's decision "to impose direct palace rule in Nepal has failed in every regard." Organizers of the demonstrations -- in which thousands have defied a curfew and shoot-on-sight orders to spill into the streets of the capital, Kathmandu -- have vowed not to stop until King Gyanendra is gone. Gyanendra seized power from interim Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who the king said had failed to quell a Maoist insurgency that has killed at least 13,000 people since 1996. The rebels, who are fighting to form a communist state, are supporting the political campaign to oust Gyanendra and install a democratic government. More than 750 protesters have been arrested since the protests began. 'Final struggle'Analysts say the struggle to topple the king is entering a decisive phase. "I think this is under any circumstances the final struggle. The question is how many weeks, months or years it will take to achieve the end, which is going to be the collapse of the monarchy,'' analyst Dr. Ajay Sahni said. A year and a half ago, when he took political power, many Nepalese believed the king's promise he would break the insurgents who wanted to establish a communist government in Nepal. But the king has failed to deliver and the Maoists are now more powerful than ever, supporting the political parties in their ongoing demonstrations against the king. A senior government official appeared to offer Nepal's striking political parties a compromise. "The government is ready to hold talks with the seven political parties, provided they give up their links with the Maoists," Home Minister Kamal Thapa said. So far there is no indication these protesters are in any mood to compromise, and for the first time professionals and business people are joining them. Analysts say they are unlikely to accept any offer that does not dilute the king's authority. "This is not a meaningful offer because this is just the same line that has been reiterated again and again over the past year and a half, ever since the king took over in fact," Sahni said. The international community is appealing to the king and his forces to stop what they call repressive measures in the nation of 28 million people. But Nepal's government says human rights groups are misreading the situation on the ground, and they have to use force against a struggle that is being increasingly backed and guided by the Maoists -- a movement the government warns has never shied away from using deadly force and violence. CNN Senior International Correspondent Satinder Bindra and journalist Sumnima Udas contributed to this report. 
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