Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday, following one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters in years that left at least 19 people dead.

“I have resigned from the post of prime minister with effect from today in order to take further steps towards a political solution and resolution of the problems,” Oli stated in a letter to the president.

Young protesters in Nepal defied a curfew earlier in the day to express their anger at the government.

The demonstrations, which began on Monday demanding the lifting of a social media ban and action against corruption, continued despite the apps being restored online.

Kathmandu police spokesman Shekhar Khanal said several groups ignored the curfew on Tuesday, with protesters taking to the streets in multiple areas, resulting in “cases of fire and attacks.”

Some demonstrators targeted politicians’ properties and government buildings, according to AFP photographers and local media reports.

The 73-year-old Prime Minister Oli ordered a probe into the violence and said he will lead all-party talks in a bid to achieve a “meaningful conclusion” to the unrest.

The interior minister resigned on Monday, according to a government statement, while two other ministers stepped down on Tuesday, Nepali media reported.

“The social media platforms have been reopened, which was among Gen Z’s demands,” Minister for Communication Prithvi Subba Gurung told AFP, referring to young people largely in their 20s.

“We are open to dialogue with the protesters.”

The social media ban fed into existing anger at the government in a country with a youth bulge.

People aged 15-40 make up nearly 43 percent of the population, according to government statistics while unemployment hovers around 10 percent and GDP per capita at just $1,447, according to the World Bank.

Slogans demanding accountability from the authorities have been a feature at the protests.

“Nearly 20 people were murdered by the state that shows the scale of police brutality,” 23-year-old student Yujan Rajbhandari said Tuesday, who took in the demonstrations a day earlier.

“The government … have to take responsibility for the lives that were lost,” Rajbhandari.

Several social media sites including Facebook, YouTube and X were blocked on Friday in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the government cut access to 26 unregistered platforms.

Amnesty International said live ammunition had been used against protesters on Monday, and the United Nations demanded a swift and transparent probe.

– ‘Silencing an entire generation’ –
Police in Kathmandu on Monday clashed with the crowds when protesters pushed through barbed wire and tried to storm into a restricted area near parliament.

Seventeen people were killed in Kathmandu, police said, and two more in the eastern district of Sunsari, according to local media.

Police said about 400 people were injured, including more than 100 police.

Since Friday, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which was not blocked.

Popular platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal who rely on them for entertainment, news and business.

Others rely on the apps for messaging.

“This isn’t just about social media it’s about trust, corruption, and a generation that refuses to stay silent,” the Kathmandu Post newspaper wrote.

“Gen Z grew up with smartphones, global trends, and promises of a federal, prosperous Nepal,” it added.

“For them, digital freedom is personal freedom. Cutting off access feels like silencing an entire generation.”

Nepal has restricted access to popular online platforms in the past, including to Telegram in July, citing a rise in online fraud.

It lifted a nine-month ban on TikTok last year after the platform agreed to comply with Nepali regulations.

• Nepal rocked with deadly protests against social media ban.
• Country reports 19 fatalities in violence-marred demonstrations.
• Govt lifts social media ban; fresh turmoil after PM’s resignation.
  

KHATMANDU: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday, his aide said, as anti-corruption demonstrators defied an indefinite curfew and clashed with police, a day after 19 people died in violent protests triggered by a social media ban.

Oli’s government lifted the social media ban after protests turned violent, killing 19 and injuring more than a 100 after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters trying to storm parliament on Monday.

The unrest is the worst in decades in the poor Himalayan country that is wedged between India and China and has struggled with political instability and economic uncertainty since protests led to the abolition of its monarchy in 2008.

“The PM has quit,” Oli’s aide Prakash Silwal told Reuters, a move that plunges the country into fresh political uncertainty.

Earlier on Tuesday, Oli had called a meeting of all political parties, saying violence is not in the interest of the nation and “we have to resort to peaceful dialogue to find solutions to any problem”.

But anger against the government showed no signs of abating, as protesters gathered in front of parliament and other places in the capital Kathmandu, in defiance of an indefinite curfew imposed by authorities.

The protesters set fire to tyres on some roads, threw stones at police personnel in riot gear and chased them through narrow streets, while some looked on and shot videos of the clashes on their mobile phones as thick black smoke rose to the sky.

Hundreds of people from some towns located near the India-Nepal border had started marching towards Kathmandu to support the protesters, one of the protesters told Reuters by phone.

Witnesses also said that protesters were setting fire to the homes of some politicians in Kathmandu, and local media reported that some ministers were plucked to safety by military helicopters.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information.

“We are still standing here for our future [….] We want this country corruption-free so that everyone can easily access education, hospitals, medical (facilities) […] and for a bright future,” protester Robin Sreshtha told Reuters TV.

Arrival of planes from the southern side at Kathmandu airport, Nepal’s main international gateway, was closed because of poor visibility due to the smoke from fires set by protesters in areas nearby, aviation authority official Gyanendra Bhul said.

Organisers of the protests, which spread to other cities in the Himalayan country, have called them “demonstrations by Gen Z”, driven by young people’s widespread frustration with the government’s perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.

• US denies visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
• Recognition of Palestine expected on UNGA agenda.
• MEP Per Clausen urges UN session shift to Geneva.

Calls are mounting to relocate the United Nations General Assembly session from New York to Geneva after the United States refused visas to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation, media reports said.

Important decisions regarding the recognition of Palestine are expected at the session. High-level debates at the General Assembly are scheduled from September 23 to 27, and the session will conclude on September 29, according to media reports.

The Trump administration has refused visas to about 80 Palestinian officials. In 1988, the US also barred PLO leader Yasser Arafat from travelling to New York. 

This is the first time in UN history that such a blanket ban has been attempted. The aim is to prevent participation in one of the most significant events in Palestinian history since the Oslo Accords.

Under a 1947 UN “headquarters agreement”, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

A one-day General Assembly conference on the two-state solution will be held on September 22 in New York. Abbas was to attend the conference led by Saudi Arabia and France. The session may see Britain, France, Australia, Canada and other countries recognise Palestine as a state.

Danish Member of the European Parliament Per Clausen has proposed moving the UN session to Geneva, saying Europe should propose holding it there. He said Palestinians’ rights should be recognised, and President Trump sent a clear message.

Israel and the US are upset with several Western allies who have pledged to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN.

At least 147 of the 193 UN member states already recognise a Palestinian state. The Palestinians have observer status at the UN, the same as the Holy See (Vatican).

Moreover, international critics say Israel’s new plan, which includes demilitarising the whole strip as Israel takes security control of it, could deepen the humanitarian plight of the 2.2 million population, which is facing a critical risk of famine, opens a new tab.

Israeli PM Netanyahu had said Israel had no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas, given that the Palestinian group had refused to lay down its arms. Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established.

Israel had already taken control of 75% of Gaza since the war began with Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, Israeli tallies show. Israeli authorities claim 20 of the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza are alive.

Israel’s military assault has killed over 62,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says, and internally displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the territory in ruins.

— With additional input from Reuters