Prime minister resigns over army chief's firing

Nepal's Maoist premier has resigned over the crisis following his dismissal of the head of the army for refusing to integrate former Maoist rebels into the ranks. Nepal's centrist president told General Rookmangud Katawal (pictured) to remain.Nepal's ruling Maoists warned Monday that the Himalayan nation's peace process was "in peril" after the country's president attempted to stop them sacking the powerful army chief. The ultra-leftists fired General Rookmangud Katawal for refusing to integrate former Maoist rebel soldiers into the regular army, a key part of a 2006 peace deal that ended a decade of civil war. But centrist President Ram Baran Yadav has told the army chief to stay.Maoist spokesman and cabinet minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP that this was tantamount to a "constitutional coup" and vowed to fight back with street protests."The president is... violating constitutional norms. The president's move has put the peace process in peril," he told AFP. "Our party has taken the president's step as a constitutional coup and we will fight against it.""The executive power to sack and appoint an acting army chief lies with the government and not the president. We will stick to our decision. We don't have any plans to quit the government," he said.He said that the decision to sack the head of the army -- traditionally a bastion of Nepal's elite and former monarchy -- was necessary to bring the army under civilian control.The row is the worst crisis to hit Nepal since the peace deal was signed and follows months of worsening tensions between the ex-rebels and their formers foes in the military.