Nepal witnessed fresh protests on Tuesday morning, barely a day after the government lifted its controversial social media ban, as demonstrators intensified demands for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation.
The Kathmandu District Administration reimposed an indefinite curfew inside the Ring Road area from 8:30 am, hours after the previous curfew expired at 5 am. Roads near the Nepal Parliament and Kalanki were blocked by protesters, according to Kathmandu Post.
The unrest follows Monday’s violent crackdown in Kathmandu and Itahari, where security forces opened fire on demonstrators, leaving at least 19 dead and more than 250 injured, marking the deadliest protest in recent years, The Himalayan Times reported.
Protesters accuse the Oli government of authoritarianism. “Yesterday many students were killed… KP Sharma Oli should leave the nation. Students should continue to raise their voice,” a protester told ANI.
Retired Nepal Army Colonel Madhav Sundar Khadga, who claimed his son went missing during the protests, urged President Ram Chandra Poudel to dissolve the government. “I called my son several times, but his phone was switched off after 4 pm. When I approached the police, they hit me… This government must go,” he said.
The violence came shortly after an emergency cabinet meeting lifted the week-long ban on social media platforms that failed to register with Nepal’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
In a late-night statement, PM Oli attributed Monday’s bloodshed to “infiltration by vested interest groups,” while announcing that the government would form a panel to investigate the protests. He also pledged financial relief for the families of the deceased and free medical care for the injured.
