The police have arrested 22 people, including 14 foreigners, in connection with the killing of two Nepalese nationals in a brawl here over the weekend, police said today.

A police spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity that the group were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the killings but had yet to be charged.

Those arrested included nine Indonesians, three Nepalese and two Bangladeshis, district police spokesman Kamal Pasha Jamal was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

In the incident on Sunday, a group of 30 men armed with sharp weapons attacked a group of Nepalese who were gathered at a shopping complex here, killing two of them.

Bernama said the magistrate's court issued a 12-day remand order for the 22 suspects.

Initial investigations revealed that the attackers, believed to be Indonesians, had tried to extort money from the six Nepalese, the Malay Mail newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The Nepalese had fought back but were outnumbered.

Robberies committed by Indonesians against Nepalese, whom they view as easy targets, were common in the area, the newspaper quoted a local businessman as saying.