At least 19 people were killed, officials said, and hundreds injured in Nepal’s capital on Monday during demonstrations against corruption and new government restrictions on social media platforms.
The protests, which also broke out in other parts of Nepal, were the most extensive in a single day in the country’s recent history. The violent response by security forces added to intense pressure on the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, as both opposition parties and a few members of the governing coalition called for his resignation.
In the capital, Kathmandu, protesters briefly surged toward the Parliament complex, occupying a security building before being dispersed by the police, according to witnesses, who said that the authorities used rubber bullets and water cannons against the crowd. Most of the demonstrators appeared to be teenagers and young adults.
Local news media reported that at least 200 people had been injured.
Outrage has been growing in Nepal over a perceived lack of effective prosecutions of high-profile corruption cases, as well as economic inequality. Demonstrators were also angered by a ban on dozens of social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. Officials implemented the ban on Thursday after saying that the platforms had failed to comply with new requirements to register with the government.
As protesters in Kathmandu clashed with law enforcement on Monday, the authorities imposed a curfew for 12:30 p.m. local time for the area around the Parliament complex, but the demonstrations continued. Troops and paramilitary forces deployed by the government struggled to control the crowds, as demonstrators blocked highways in the capital.
Mr. Oli held an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday. The home affairs minister, Ramesh Lekhak, said that he would resign, citing moral grounds.
“This may be the most violent social and political unrest in modern Nepal,” said Professor Jeevan Sharma, chair of South Asia and International Development at the University of Edinburgh, who is in Nepal conducting research.
Referring to the social media ban, Professor Sharma said: “There is overwhelming anger at the government’s move, which has curtailed democratic space and freedom of expression.”
The protests spread on Monday to other parts of Nepal, including Pokhara in the center; the Chitwan district in the southwest; Janakpur, southeast of the capital; and others.
In Kathmandu, eight people died while receiving treatment at the National Trauma Center, according to Dr. Dipendra Pandey, a doctor there. At Kathmandu Medical College, two others died, and 28 others arrived with injuries, according to Dr. Bibek Limbu.
Three people died after being brought from the protests to Civil Service Hospital, according to its executive director, Dr. Mohan Chandra Regmi. Several other patients were in critical condition, Dr. Regmi said, adding, “Our emergency ward is overloaded.”
Three others died at the Everest Hospital, according to the facility’s administration, and two people died in the eastern district of Sunsari, police there said. Another injured person died at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in the capital, according to local media reports.
Free speech is highly prized in Nepal, which has enjoyed robust space for debate as democratic freedoms have shrunk in other South Asian countries. Critics of Mr. Oli have accused his government of trying to curtail freedom of expression.
“If the Congress government cannot protect democracy, it must immediately step down,” said Rajendra Bajgain, a member of Parliament from the Nepali Congress party, which is part of a governing coalition with Mr. Oli’s party. He added that the restrictions on social media should be lifted.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about its decision not to register with the government under the new law.
In November 2023, Nepal banned TikTok, saying the app had disrupted “social harmony.” TikTok agreed to register with the government, and the ban was lifted nine months later. TikTok remains available in Nepal, as it complied with the government’s new regulations on social media.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a London-based reporter on the Live team at The Times, which covers breaking and developing news.
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