Hundreds of protesters stormed Nepal's parliament on Tuesday and set fire to the main building, as violent protests led by"Generation Z" youth escalated following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, a spokesman for the parliament said.
“Hundreds of people entered the Parliament grounds and set fire to the main building,” said Ekram Giri, a spokesman for the institution based in the capital, Kathmandu.
The Parliament fire marked a new escalation in protests that have rocked the Himalayan nation for a week, initially against a ban on social media but which have grown into a broader movement against government corruption and nepotism.
Protesters also set fire to Prime Minister Oli's private residence in the town of Balkot, according to images posted on social media and local television, which showed the house engulfed in flames and thick plumes of black smoke. Protesters tried to cut down trees that surrounded the property.
Oli announced his immediate resignation on Tuesday , after a police crackdown on protests left 19 dead on Monday when security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters who surrounded the parliament building.
“Many of them are in serious condition and appear to have been shot in the head and chest,” said Dr. Badri Risa of the National Trauma Center, the country’s main hospital, where seven of the dead and dozens of injured were treated.
The wave of arson spread to multiple political targets. Among the homes attacked or burned were the residences of Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the largest Nepali Congress party; President Ram Chandra Poudel; Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak; and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal Maoist.
A private school owned by Arzu Deuba Rana, Deuba's wife and the current foreign minister, was also set on fire. Protesters also vandalized political party offices, including that of Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
The protests initially erupted last week on social media with hashtags like #nepobabies to denounce corruption and nepotism. The trigger that brought the mobilization to the streets was the government's decision to block 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram , and X, a measure that young people considered an attack on freedom of expression.
“I’m here to protest the massive corruption in our country,” said Bishnu Thapa Chetri, a student. “The country has become so bad that for us young people, there’s no reason to stay.”
The government lifted the ban on social media on Tuesday that had gone into effect last Thursday, but the measure failed to mitigate the impact of the protests.
“ Our demand and desire is for peace and an end to corruption so that people can truly work and live in the country,” Chetri added.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in Kathmandu and other cities, and schools in the capital were closed. Despite the restrictions, several protests were reported on Tuesday.
“Punish the government killers. Stop killing children,” protesters chanted as police used loudspeakers to urge them to return home.
Interior Minister Lekhak also resigned at an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday night, joining three other ministers who have rejected the executive-ordered crackdown.
So far, at least 19 young people have died and more than 300 have been injured in the protests, which intensified on Tuesday with the attack on Parliament and the residences of political leaders.
Oli had said in a statement that he would form an inquiry committee to submit a report within 15 days and that compensation would be given for the lives lost and free treatment for the injured.
The protests have been dubbed the “Generation Z” movement, generally referring to people born between 1995 and 2010, who have expressed growing frustration with political parties they blame for systemic corruption.
