Armed soldiers have been patrolling the streets of Kathmandu, ordering people to remain in their homes, following a wave of deadly protests in Nepal’s capital.
The Nepali army checked vehicles and people on Wednesday amid an indefinite curfew, imposed in a bid to “normalise” the capital after mass unrest saw demonstrators set fire to several government buildings and force Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.
The protests, triggered by a social media ban, have escalated since Monday, when security forces killed 19 demonstrators and injured hundreds. Tens of thousands filled Kathmandu’s streets on Monday and Tuesday as the protests expanded to target corruption and unemployment in the country’s most violent tumult in decades.
“We are trying to normalise the situation first,” army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told the Reuters news agency. “We are committed to protect the life and property of people.”
The army’s emergence from the barracks after Oli’s resignation seemed to do little to ease the uproar across the capital.
Late into Tuesday evening, demonstrators blocked roads and stormed the parliament, presidential house and central secretariat, while videos showed protesters beating Nepali Congress party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, the foreign minister.
Prompted initially by a now-rescinded government plan to block most popular social media platforms, protesters were galvanised by the deaths on Monday and widespread frustrations with alleged corruption and joblessness.
Pabit Tandukar, 22, was among those shot by live ammunition. “We were there for a peaceful protest. They were initially firing tear gas at us, and we were pushing back. Suddenly, I was shot,” Tandukar told Al Jazeera.
Demonstrators react as smoke rises from the parliament complex in Kathmandu [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
While so-called “nepo kids” — the children of top politicians and government officials — show off lives of luxury on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, most common people have been struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 11 percent, according to the World Bank. Millions have migrated abroad to Malaysia, the Middle East and South Korea to find jobs.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was the first to resign on Monday, followed by Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari and then Oli on Tuesday. President Ram Chandra Poudel, the ceremonial head of state, moved to appoint Oli to lead a caretaker government — though his location was unclear — and appealed to protesters to “focus on resolving the crisis without further bloodshed or destruction”.
Meanwhile, army helicopters ferried ministers to safe locations.
The protests have led to concern across South Asia over regional stability, with governments having been unseated in recent youth-led uprisings in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Neighbouring China weighed in on the unrest on Wednesday. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman told journalists that Chinese citizens in Nepal should “pay close attention to safety” and that Beijing hopes Kathmandu “can properly handle domestic issues and quickly restore social order and national stability”.
China has sought to increase its influence in Nepal in recent years with diplomatic efforts and the Belt and Road Initiative.
