KATHMANDU
\nNepali soldiers patrolled the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday, seeking to restore order after protesters set parliament ablaze and forced the prime minister to quit in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan nation in two decades. Protests had began Monday in the Nepali capital against the government\u2019s ban on social media and over corruption, but escalated into an outpouring of rage nationwide with government buildings set on fire after a deadly crackdown claimed at least 19 lives.
\nThe rapid descent into chaos shocked many, and Nepal\u2019s military warned against \u201cactivities that could lead the country into unrest and instability\u201d in the country of 30 million people.Smouldering plumes of smoke rose from the government buildings, residences of politicians, supermarkets and other buildings targeted by protesters, an media reporter said Wednesday.
\nStreets were littered with carcasses of burnt vehicles and tyres. \u201cIt is quiet today, the army is on the streets in all places\u201d, one soldier inspecting cars at a makeshift street checkpoint said, who could not be named as he was not authorised to speak to reporters. Gangs on Tuesday had attacked and set fire to the house of KP Sharma Oli, the 73-year-old, four-time prime minister and leader of the Communist Party.
\nHe later quit to allow \u201csteps towards a political solution\u201d. His whereabouts are not known. Nepali Army chief, General Ashok Raj Sigdel, has appealed for talks, in a video message issued late Tuesday. \u201cTo provide the nation with a peaceful resolution, we urge all groups involved in the protest to call it off and engage in dialogue\u201d, he said.
\nThe International Crisis Group called it a \u201cmajor inflection point in the country\u2019s uneasy experience with democratic rule\u201d.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged \u201crestraint to avoid a further escalation of violence\u201d, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of neighbouring India said that the \u201cstability, peace and prosperity of Nepal are of utmost importance to us\u201d.
\nWhat happens next is unclear.\u201dThe protesters, leaders who are trusted by them and the army should come together to pave the way for a caretaker government,\u201d constitutional lawyer Dipendra Jha told media. Crisis Group analyst Ashish Pradhan echoed that, saying a \u201ctransitional arrangement will now need to be charted out swiftly and include figures who still retain credibility with Nepalis, especially the country\u2019s youth\u201d.
\nPeople aged 15-40 make up nearly 43 percent of the population, according to government statistics \u2014 while unemployment hovers around 10 percent and GDP per capita is just $1,447, according to the World Bank. Several social media sites \u2014 including Facebook, YouTube and X \u2014 were blocked on Friday, after the government cut access to 26 unregistered platforms. Since then, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which was not blocked. \u2014 DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KATHMANDU Nepali soldiers patrolled the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday, seeking to restore order after protesters set parliament ablaze and forced the prime minister to quit in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan nation in two decades. Protests had began Monday in the Nepali capital against the government\u2019s ban on social media and over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-502127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n