A nationwide anti-monarchy strike paralysed Nepal for the second day on Wednesday, report agencies. 

Five major political parties had called the two-day strike after King Gyanendra, who replaced an elected government with a handpicked cabinet in 2002, refused to heed weeks of sustained street protests demanding the restoration of democracy. Gyanendra had cited the government's inability to deal with the eight year-old Maoist insurgency as reason for the dismissal.

Over 9,300 people have been killed in the insurgency, with the rebels, who want to replace the monarchy with a communist state,  walking out of peace talks last August.  

Foreign aid agencies pulled out of the nation on Monday while Gyanendra's Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa resigned last week.  

In the latest bout of violence, at least seven security personnel and 12 Maoists were killed in clashes in central Nepal Tuesday, said local media reports.