The protesters had blockaded the entrance to the prime minister's office and other government buildings in the capital, Kathmandu, on Thursday."We used force after the protesters tried to breach our security cordon and enter the prohibited zone," Kanchha Bhandari, the deputy superintendent of police, said.
The Maoists quit the government in May after the president stopped them from sacking the head of the army.
Nationwide protests
The Maoists, led by the former prime minister Prachanda, have said that the president had undermined the supremacy of the civilian government in stopping them from acting.
"Unless the president's move is corrected, we will continue our protests"
Prachanda,
former Maoist prime minister
"Our achievements have been hijacked and civilian supremacy has been hijacked. The main aim of our protest is to restore it," Prachanda said as he led the protest.
Thursday's demonstration is part of a fortnight-long series of nationwide protests being held by the former guerrillas, who fought a 10-year civil war against the state that ended in 2006.
The protest had started in celebratory mood, with activists dancing and playing traditional music as they handed round dishes of rice and curry.
But the atmosphere turned angry as the clashes broke out and one television station showed police using axes to destroy musical instruments left behind when the demonstrators fled.
Barshanan Pun, a Maoist MP, said that 20 protesters had been injured in the clashes.
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