"Nepal agreed on Monday to let the United Nations send observers to the country, where both government forces and Maoist rebels are accused of abusing human rights.

Under an agreement with Kathmandu, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights will set up offices and try to bring to account those guilty of abuse.

"Breaking the cycle of serious and systematic abuses will be the first essential step toward achieving peace and reconciliation in Nepal," U.N. High Commissioner Louise Arbour said in a statement.

Some 11,000 people have been killed in the Maoist revolt since 1996. Insurgents control large parts of Nepal's countryside and want to establish a communist republic." LINK