"We are ready for them," army spokesman Brigadier General Dipak Gurung told AFP.

"They plan to isolate Kathmandu but our troops are already deployed."

The army would provide armed escorts to civilian vehicles, the general said, predicting that the blockade would fail as it did last time.

"So we don't see any problem," he added.

Violence in the valley, where bombings were an almost daily occurrence last year, has virtually halted since King Gyanendra seized total power on February 1.

When the rebels declared a similar strike in mid-March against the power grab, police said it had been largely ignored and transport little affected in the hub of the kingdom's road network.

Troops had deployed in sensitive areas after the rebels called for a blockade from March 14 to April 1.

This time the Maoists have announced an 11-day stoppage from Saturday to April 12.

They issued a statement urging the masses "to create a storm of action in favour of full democracy and against autocracy."

In February a blockade was enforced by the rebels, more through threats than physical action, slowing traffic to a trickle sending fresh food prices soaring.

Maoist rebels shot dead a businessman and an army captain and torched two trucks, while two guerrillas were killed in separate incidents across Nepal in the past few days, a security force source said yesterday.

Two Maoists posing as customers shot Narayan Kumar Shrestha, chairman of the Sindhuli District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while he was in his shop Thursday evening, the source said.

In another incident, Maoist rebels earlier this week shot dead Arjun Palpali, a captain of the Royal Nepal Army at Kawasoti in Nepal's southern Chitwan district.

"Captain Palpali who was seriously injured in the attack succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday," the security source said, quoting a delayed message from officials in the district.

Meanwhile, two rebels were killed in a clash Thursday night with the security forces at Ghoplu Bhanjyang in Solukhumbi district, an army source said.

On the eve of an 11-day national strike they have called starting Saturday, Maoist rebels set ablaze two trucks carrying goods and construction materials on the Sindhuli-Bardibas road late Thursday, a police official said.

Moreover, Nepal's Communi-cations and Information Minister Tanka Dhakal warned the country's political leaders Thursday to toe the line and to avoid protesting King Gyanendra's power grab on the streets.

"The country is facing a grave crisis and to solve this problem, the king had recently taken the steps and to maintain peace and security," Minister Dhakal told a press conference.

"The political party leaders should cooperate the king's move and maintain peace and security in the country," Dhakal said.