- Social media ban sparks worst violence since the monarchy fell in 2006.
- Gen Z protesters torch parliament, media houses, and ministers’ homes.
- Viral video shows finance minister stripped and chased into a river.
- Former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba attacked.
- Parliament stormed, set ablaze, with graffiti declaring “We won.”
- Oli resigns after police clash leaves 19 dead, but uncertainty remains.
Nepal has plunged into its worst unrest in nearly two decades after a government ban on social media triggered mass protests led by Gen Z activists. Demonstrators defied curfews and overpowered security forces in Kathmandu, setting parliament on fire and targeting top leaders’ residences.
Shocking footage showed the finance minister stripped, beaten, and chased into a river before being dragged along the stream in humiliation. Crowds also stormed the home of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, assaulting them before vandalising their residence.
Houses belonging to President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister Oli in Balkot, and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were also torched in coordinated attacks.
Kantipur Publications, which runs Kantipur Daily and The Kathmandu Post, was set ablaze after protesters accused it of serving as a “mouthpiece for a corrupt government.” Videos online showed the massive fire consuming the building, with other offices in the complex also damaged.
Protesters broke into parliament, scrawling “We won” on its walls as smoke billowed from the building. Young demonstrators waved victory signs and chanted slogans after news broke that Prime Minister Oli had resigned.
Oli’s resignation came after Monday’s deadly confrontation, where police fired live bullets, rubber rounds, and tear gas at crowds trying to storm parliament, killing 19. His government later lifted the social media ban, but the gesture failed to ease public anger.
The unrest has laid bare frustration with Nepal’s fragile republic, born in 2008 after the monarchy was abolished. In 17 years, the country has cycled through 13 governments, with corruption and instability eroding trust.
While Oli’s exit marks a turning point, protesters are now demanding a complete dissolution of government, raising fears of further turmoil in the Himalayan nation caught between India and China.
