Nepal's president has asked sacked army chief General Rookmangud Katawal to stay in his post, a spokesman said on Monday, defying the Maoist government and thrusting the Himalayan republic deeper into political crisis.

The Maoists fired Katawal on Sunday, accusing him of disobeying instructions not to hire new recruits and refusing to accept the supremacy of the civilian government over the army.

But President Ram Baran Yadav, who hails from an opposition party and is commander-in-chief of the army, called the move unconstitutional.

"The president has asked Katawal to continue to work as usual," the president's spokesman Rajendra Dahal said. "The dismissal of the army chief is illegal and unconstitutional.   

The crisis could wreck a 2006 peace pact that ended a decade-long civil war that pitted the army against the Maoists.

The peace agreement ushered the Maoists into the political mainstream.

Two government parliamentary allies have withdrawn from the coalition in protest at the firing, leaving the Maoists with a thin majority and possibly leading to a vote of confidence in the government. - Reuters