KATHMANDU: Nepal's government has launched a probe into ethnic unrest in the south of the country that has killed at least 60 people and cast a shadow over a landmark peace deal, a minister said on Wednesday.

“The cabinet meeting on Wednesday agreed to form a commission headed by a Mahadhesi judge to address the problems of Mahadhesi people and the ongoing unrest,” Rajendra Mahato, Nepal's Minister for Industry Commerce and Supplies, said.

“The structure of the commission will be decided in the next cabinet meeting,” said Mahato, one of only four Mahadhesi ministers in the 22-member interim government sworn in at the start of April.

The Mahadhesi People's Rights Forum (MJF), an ethnic activist group, has been at the head of the protests and is calling for greater government representation and increased autonomy for the Terai region.—AFP