Armed police escorted fuel and food trucks into Nepal's capital yesterday on the third day of a crippling general strike called by former Maoist rebels demanding the prime minister's resignation, officials said.

Home Ministry official Jaya Mukunda Khanal said a few trucks loaded with essential goods were brought into the city during the early hours of yesterday. They were escorted by police vehicles on the highways and arrived without incident.

Maoist supporters yesterday vandalised several shops in Katmandu that had defied the strike and opened for business, Khanal said.

In the capital, Katmandu, thousands of Maoist supporters continued to protest on the streets and enforce the general strike. Thousands of police in riot gear also kept close watch.

The opposition Maoists have imposed an indefinite general strike — banning all travel and preventing businesses and schools from opening under threat of violence - since Sunday demanding Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resign and a new Maoist-led government take power.

The strike has shut down most ground transport, schools, and businesses, grinding daily business down to a standstill.

Maoists have allowed food shops to open for two hours in the evening, but stock is running low since the strike forbids trucks from bringing in goods on the highway or to the shops from wholesalers.

The government was also working on a plan to transport people who need to be immediately moved such as those who need medical attention, Khanal said.

The strike comes as Nepal is struggling to draft a new constitution by a May 28 deadline, when the term of the Constituent Assembly—which is to draft the charter - - expires.

The Maoists and the political parties in power have failed to reach any agreement despite several meetings between their leaders on Sunday and Monday.