Protesters torch Nepal’s parliament amid spiralling unrest

Protesters breached Nepal’s federal parliament complex in Kathmandu and set parts of the building on fire on Tuesday, escalating a youth-led movement that has convulsed the country and prompted the prime minister’s resignation.

Authorities confirmed fatalities and hundreds of injuries over two days of clashes that centred on the New Baneshwar area housing the legislature. The death toll rose to 19 after security forces used live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas as crowds pushed through barricades and overran sections of the compound. Curfews were imposed as police struggled to regain control of streets littered with burned vehicles and debris.

Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli stepped down on Tuesday, saying he was leaving office to allow a constitutional resolution to the crisis. His decision followed the resignations of three cabinet ministers and came amid nationwide anger over a social-media shutdown and longstanding allegations of graft against political elites. The government’s order blocking major platforms was later reversed but failed to stem the unrest. Parliament torched as Nepal’s unrest escalates became the rallying shorthand as videos of flames and smoke at the complex spread online.

The confrontation has been driven by demonstrators under the “Gen Z” banner, who accuse leaders across the political spectrum of presiding over corruption and inequality. Protesters forced riot police to retreat inside the parliament grounds, hurled projectiles at security lines and set an ambulance ablaze near the legislature, according to officials and eyewitness accounts. At least one major party office was vandalised and homes of senior figures were attacked, deepening fears of targeted political violence.

Fires were also reported at the President’s Office in Sheetal Niwas and at locations within the Singha Durbar government precinct, though the president had earlier been moved to safety by security forces. Overnight, demonstrators gathered despite curfews, with plumes of smoke visible across central Kathmandu as tyres and vehicles burned. Medical teams treated a surge of patients for gunshot wounds, rubber-bullet injuries and tear-gas exposure.

The violence followed a dramatic turn on Monday when police opened fire as crowds massed outside parliament. Authorities said they acted after barricades were smashed and restricted zones were breached. Human-rights lawyers urged restraint and an independent probe into use of force, while protest organisers called for accountability over the killings and the scrapping of what they describe as arbitrary curbs on digital speech. The interior ministry said additional forces had been deployed to protect “vital state institutions” and to prevent arson attacks.

Political stakes rose sharply as parties traded blame for the collapse of order. Opposition figures accused the government of inflaming tensions with the platform ban and heavy-handed policing; allies of the outgoing administration said opportunists had hijacked legitimate grievances. Analysts drew parallels with movements that toppled governments elsewhere in South Asia, noting that youth-driven networks—first mobilised online—shifted rapidly to the streets after connectivity was cut. The cycle of bans, protests and crackdowns, they said, helped transform a digital policy dispute into a systemic legitimacy crisis.