Local and international rights groups are urging Nepal's new prime minister to ensure that those who committed crimes during the country's civil war be held accountable.

In an open letter Friday to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, the rights groups expressed concern about a recent political agreement to grant amnesty to those accused of human rights abuses during years of conflict.

Prime Minister Bhattarai is a member of Nepal's Maoist party, which holds the most seats in the country's parliament. Lawmakers elected Mr. Bhattarai in a vote on Sunday.

Nepal's Maoist rebels battled government forces in a decade-long insurgency that resulted in more than 13,000 deaths. The conflict ended when the rebels signed a peace deal with the government in 2006 and agreed to join the political process.

The rights groups said that a proposal to withdraw criminal cases and grant amnesty to people accused of human rights abuses during the civil war would deny victims their fundamental rights.