Nepal's PM quits amid deadly Gen Z protests

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - KATHMANDU – NNepal's prime minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned as anti-corruption protests escalated in the country's capital Kathmandu. The protesters stormed the parliament building and set fire to several government structures.

More than a dozen people were killed and hundreds injured during the youth-led protests sparked by a government ban on social media platforms, widespread corruption, and poor economic opportunities.

Security forces unleashed live ammunition, water cannons, and tear gas over protests in several cities, according to news agency Reuters. At least 22 people have been killed, Dr. Mohan Regmi, the executive director at Civil Service Hospital in Kathmandu, said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of protesters have broken into Nepal’s parliament building in Kathmandu, with smoke continuing to rise from a wing of the building.

Motorbikes were circulating around the buildings’ compound, with some carrying dug up plants away from the garden and paintings from the interior.

Protesters were dancing and chanting slogans around a fire at the entrance of the building, many holding Nepal’s flag.

Some have entered the inside of the building where all the windows have been smashed. Graffiti and anti-government messages have been spray painted on the buildings exterior.

Nepal, a Himalayan country of 30 million people, is known for its turbulent politics and has seen more than a dozen governments since it transitioned to a republic after abolishing its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 following a decade-long civil war.

Still, the latest protests, which are led by people ages 13 to 28 – the cohort known as Generation Z – are Nepal’s worst unrest in decades.

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced his resignation on Tuesday in a letter that cited “the extraordinary situation” in the country, according to copy of the note posted on social media by a top aide.

Protesters took to the streets again in the capital Tuesday in defiance of a curfew imposed on the city center, and after the government lifted the social media ban. Photos by Reuters showed protesters burning a police booth and furniture outside the office of the Nepali Congress, Nepal’s largest political party. The international airport was closed due to the violence in the city affecting operations, Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul told CNN.

South of Kathmandu, in the municipality of Chandrapur, police fired into the air as protesters defied curfew to gather, a local official told CNN. Protesters also set a police car on fire, the source said.

Anger against the government for what many view as rampant, decades-long corruption in Nepal was already simmering, and it spilled into the streets of the capital last week after the government blocked social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and X, in a move that was widely criticized by rights groups.

The government had written new rules it said were needed to clamp down on fake news and hate speech and threatened to ban any social media companies that failed to register.

By midnight last Thursday, 26 platforms had gone dark, according to local media.

But organizers say the protests, which spread across the country, are not only about the social media ban but are also a reflection of generational frustration at poor economic opportunities.

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15-24 in Nepal was 20.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank.

Meanwhile, a viral online movement against “Nepo Kids” — politicians’ children showing off their lavish lifestyles — is fueling further anger by highlighting the disparities between those in power and regular Nepalis.

Nepal’s economy is heavily reliant on money sent home by Nepalis living abroad. More than a third (33.1%) of Nepal’s GDP came from personal remittances, according to the World Bank, a number that has steadily risen over the past three decades.

“All the Nepali citizens are fed up (with) corruption. Every youth (is) going outside the country. So, we want to protect our youth and make the country’s economy better,” a protester told Reuters.

The protests turned violent Monday as protesters clashed with police at the parliament complex in Kathmandu.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of young protesters, many of whom wore school or college uniforms, according to Reuters.

Protesters set fire to an ambulance and hurled objects at riot police guarding the legislature, Reuters reported, citing a local official.

“The police are firing indiscriminately,” one protester told Indian news agency ANI.

Hospital authorities previously said that least 17 people were killed in Kathmandu and two more in the eastern city of Itahari on Monday.

More than 400 people, including security forces staff, were hospitalized after suffering injuries on Monday, according to a report by Nepal’s health ministry.

International organizations swiftly condemned the lethal crackdown by police and called for an independent investigation.

The UN human rights office said it was “shocked” by the deaths of the protesters and urged a “transparent” investigation. It said it has received “several deeply worrying allegations of unnecessary” use of force by security authorities during the protests.

“The use of lethal force against protesters not posing an imminent threat of death or serious injury is a grave violation of international law,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

The resignation of Prime Minister Oli on Tuesday came after a string of other officialas quit over the government’s response to the protests. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned Monday following the violence, with the ministers for agriculture, water and health a day later.

In the hours after Oli stepped down, the Nepali Army appealed for a peaceful solution through dialogue, urging “all citizens to exercise restraint to prevent further loss of life and property in this critical situation.”

Binay Mishra, a Nepal-based public policy analyst, told CNN that “once the prime minister steps down, the president calls the parliament to form the government.”

As there is currently no party with a clear majority, lawmakers are more likely to form an interim government with some Gen Z organizations potentially involved in discussions over who could lead in the short term, said Mishra, an assistant professor of public policy at Kathmandu University School of Management.

In a statement before his resignation, Oli said his government was “not negative toward the demands raised by the Gen Z generation” and said he was “deeply saddened” by the incidents on Monday. He blamed “infiltration by various vested interest groups” for the violence, without elaborating on who the groups were.

Gagan Thapa, General Secretary of the Nepali Congress and member of parliament, on Tuesday conveyed his distress over “the cruel sight of innocent youth being killed unnecessarily is rolling before our eyes” and called on Oli to “take responsibility for this oppression and resign immediately.”

Thapa added: “The Nepali Congress must not, and cannot, remain a witness and partner in this situation for even a single day. The Nepali Congress must withdraw from the government immediately. I will work to get this decision made at the party meeting.”

Nepal’s biggest-selling newspaper had also on Tuesday called for Oli to step down, its editorial board arguing he “cannot sit in the PM’s chair for a minute longer” after Monday’s bloodshed. – Agencies