Kathmandu — Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli introduced Tuesday that he would step down because the nation was rocked by a second day of unrest amid protests over a since-repealed ban on many main social media platforms. Clashes between younger demonstrators and police on Monday turned violent, with police reportedly killing 19 folks.
Protesters in Nepal’s capital defied a curfew on Tuesday to proceed venting their rage on the authorities a day after the lethal crackdown.
The protests, which started on Monday with calls for that the federal government raise a ban on social media and sort out corruption, reignited regardless of the apps being allowed to return on-line.
Kathmandu police spokesman Shekhar Khanal stated a number of teams had refused to obey a curfew on Tuesday, telling AFP there have been protesters within the streets in lots of areas together with “instances of fireside and assaults.”
A protester throws a wood plank towards flames exterior the Nepali Congress occasion’s headquarters, throughout an indication towards the killing the day prior to this of 19 folks, after anti-corruption protests triggered by a social media ban which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 9, 2025.
Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS
Some focused the properties of politicians and authorities buildings, in accordance with an AFP photographer and native media stories. In line with The Related Press, the properties of the chief of the biggest political occasion within the nation, Nepali Congress, together with President Ram Chandra Poudel, House Minister Ramesh Lekhak and chief of the Communist occasion of Nepal have been amongst these set on hearth. A non-public college owned by the international minister was additionally set on hearth.
Prime Minister Oli, 73, had ordered a probe into the violence and on Tuesday stated he would head all-party talks in a bid to convey a couple of “significant conclusion” to the violence. However not lengthy after, native media stated he was stepping down, and the Reuters information company cited his aide Prakash Silwal as confirming the information.
The inside minister resigned on Monday, in accordance with a authorities assertion, whereas two others cupboard members had earlier stop on Tuesday, in accordance with Nepali media.
“The social media platforms have been opened, which was among the many Gen Z’s calls for,” Minister for Communication Prithvi Subba Gurung advised AFP, referring to younger folks aged largely of their 20s who’ve led the protests.
What are the protests in Nepal all about?
The social media ban fed into current anger on the authorities in a rustic with a youth bulge. Folks aged 15-40 make up practically 43% of the inhabitants, in accordance with authorities statistics — whereas unemployment hovers round 10% and GDP per capita at simply $1,447, in accordance with the World Financial institution.
Slogans demanding accountability from the authorities have been a function on the protests.
“Almost 20 folks have been murdered by the state — that reveals the dimensions of police brutality,” 23-year-old pupil Yujan Rajbhandari, who took half within the demonstrations a day earlier, stated Tuesday. “The federal government… must take accountability for the lives that have been misplaced.”
Demonstrators react exterior the Nepali Parliament complicated throughout a protest towards the killing the day prior to this of 19 folks amid anti-corruption protests that have been triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, regardless of a curfew in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 9, 2025.
Adnan Abidi/REUTERS
A number of social media websites — together with Fb, YouTube and X — have been blocked Friday within the Himalayan nation of 30 million folks, after the federal government reduce entry to 26 platforms that it stated had didn’t register as required. Along with formal registration, the federal government had required the platforms to put up an area liaison in Nepal.
Amnesty Worldwide stated reside ammunition was used towards protesters on Monday, and the United Nations demanded a swift and clear probe.
Police in Kathmandu on Monday clashed with the crowds when protesters pushed via barbed wire and tried to storm right into a restricted space close to parliament. Seventeen folks have been killed in Kathmandu, police stated, and two extra within the jap district of Sunsari, in accordance with native media.
Police stated about 400 folks have been injured, together with greater than 100 police.
Since Friday, movies contrasting the struggles of abnormal Nepalis with the youngsters of politicians flaunting luxurious items and costly holidays have gone viral on TikTok, which was not blocked.
Fashionable platforms reminiscent of Instagram have hundreds of thousands of customers in Nepal who depend on them for leisure, information and enterprise. Others depend on the apps for messaging.
“This is not nearly social media — it is about belief, corruption, and a era that refuses to remain silent,” the Kathmandu Put up newspaper wrote. “Gen Z grew up with smartphones, world developments, and guarantees of a federal, affluent Nepal.”
“For them, digital freedom is private freedom,” the newspaper stated. “Slicing off entry seems like silencing a whole era.”
Nepal has restricted entry to widespread on-line platforms prior to now, together with to Telegram in July, citing an increase in on-line fraud. It lifted a nine-month ban on TikTok final 12 months after the platform agreed to adjust to Nepali laws.