KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Supporters of Nepal’s former communist rebels marched in the capital Wednesday demanding the president resign for rejecting the ouster of the army chief, who has resisted the integration of ex- Maoist fighters into the military.

Police kept a close watch on the 800 protesters as they demonstrated peacefully in the heart of Katmandu but did not intervene.

Demonstrators had clashed with baton-wielding police on Tuesday, leaving several protesters injured.

Supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the former rebels who have become Nepal’s largest political party, have held almost daily protests since last week against President Ram Baran Yadav, an opposition leader.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the head of the Maoists, unleashed a political crisis on May 3 by announcing the dismissal of army chief Rookmangud Katawal, accusing him of reneging on an agreement to bring the former guerrillas into the army.

However, the military falls under the command of President Yadav, who rejected Katawal’s sacking.

The reinstatement prompted Dahal to resign as prime minister on May 4 and pull his Maoist party out of the coalition government.