Nepali troops move to restore order as death toll rises to 22

By BHADRA SHARMA and ALEX TRAVELLI

Nepal’s military began deploying troops late Tuesday in Kathmandu after a day on which rampaging protesters set upon the South Asian nation’s political elite both in government offices and in their homes.

A day after government forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least 19, smoke billowed from fires set at parliament and the Supreme Court in the capital, Kathmandu, as well as from the homes of lawmakers past and present. The wife of one former official was badly burned. Hotels and airports were also attacked.

The violence, which began Monday, continued even after the Nepalese prime minister resigned and the government retreated from a ban on social media platforms like WhatsApp that had incensed Nepalese already angry over official corruption.

The heads of Nepal’s main security agencies issued a joint statement appealing for calm and calling on political parties to find a peaceful way out of the crisis. But after the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and other top officials, it was unclear who, if anyone, was in charge.

Later in the day, after the death toll climbed to 22, the army said it would step in. Just after midnight, soldiers and well-armed police officers could be seen on some city streets in Kathmandu. They encircled groups of protesters and, in some cases, forced them to their knees, with hands crossed behind their heads.

The chaos stemmed from a government ban issued last week on major social media platforms that lit a fuse on years of anger and frustration over corruption and economic inequality.

Here’s what else to know:

— Ban reversal: Social media is a critical tool in Nepal, where many citizens work abroad and send money back home. Last week, the authorities banned 26 services, including WeChat, YouTube and LinkedIn, which it said had failed to register with the government. By Tuesday morning, they were all back online.

— South Asia: The crisis is unfolding similarly to how other unrest has in the region. Barely a year ago, similar scenes played out in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Its prime minister, long the most powerful figure in the country, disappeared after being driven from office by angry street protests. About three years ago, the same happened in Sri Lanka.

— Youth and democracy: The demonstrators in Nepal, who appeared to be mostly teenagers and young adults, have embraced the label “Gen Z protest.” Free speech is prized in Nepal, which has maintained robust space for debate as similar rights have shrunk in other South Asian countries.

— Economic crisis: Outrage has also been growing over economic inequality and what many Nepalese see as the government’s failure to aggressively pursue high-profile corruption cases. The country’s biggest lingering crisis centers on jobs.

— Resignations: Oli had been elected in 2024 for a fifth time as Nepal’s top official, and it’s not clear who will replace him. In all, four Cabinet ministers stepped down, including three from the Nepali Congress, which is in a coalition government with Oli’s Communist Party.