At least 19 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in nationwide protests in Nepal after demonstrations that began over a government ban on major social-media platforms and an online movement targeting politicians’ so-called “nepo kids” escalated into violent clashes with security forces.
Seventeen of the fatalities occurred in Kathmandu and two in the southeastern city of Itahari, a police spokesperson said. Local hospitals and media reported hundreds of people were treated for injuries. Amnesty International said security forces used live ammunition in the city, an assertion that the government has disputed as it said its response aimed to protect constitutional institutions from arson and vandalism.
The protests — widely described as a Gen Z-led movement — began near the Federal Parliament in New Baneshwar, Kathmandu, after the government deactivated access to 26 social-media platforms last week for failing to register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Demonstrators also pressed broader demands, including the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the creation of an independent watchdog to investigate corruption.
The government announced it would roll back the ban the day after the unrest intensified, and the communication minister said services on the platforms were being restored. Home Affairs Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned on Monday, taking responsibility for the crackdown. Authorities have imposed curfews in Kathmandu and other cities, and the Nepali Army was called in to back up police after protesters entered restricted zones and the parliament premises.
Prime Minister Oli described the violence as the result of "infiltration" and said security forces were trying to prevent arson and vandalism of state institutions. He also pledged monetary compensation for the families of the deceased and free treatment for the injured. The government has launched an inquiry panel to investigate the events in the capital.
The demonstrations merged two recent flashpoints. One was a government directive and court ruling intended to bring social-media platforms under national registration and oversight. The Nepali Supreme Court ordered all platforms to register before operating on Sept. 29 last year, the text of the verdict made public only last month, according to officials. To implement the order, the communications ministry issued a notice on Aug. 28 giving platforms seven days to register; companies that failed to comply were to be deactivated.
Digital-advisory firm Kepios estimated there were 14.3 million active social-media user identities in Nepal at the start of 2025, a figure that would represent nearly half the country’s population if each identity were a distinct person. Some platforms complied before the ministry’s deadline — TikTok and the messaging service Viber were reported to have registered — but others, including Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, did not, prompting the government’s sweeping deactivation.
The ban threatened a nascent content-monetization program on Facebook and sparked concern among creators and businesses that depend on social platforms. It also drew sharp criticism from media and free-speech advocates, who warned the move could be used to curb dissent.
The second flashpoint was an online movement spotlighting the children and relatives of powerful figures, dubbed locally as “nepo kids.” Borrowing a term popularized in global pop culture, Nepali social-media users posted images and videos of the children of politicians and public figures, accusing them of enjoying lavish lifestyles funded by public money and impunity. Posts shared under hashtags such as #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal and #NepoKids drew widespread attention and large view counts on platforms that remained accessible.
Protesters and activists said the social-media ban appeared to be timed to blunt that online scrutiny. “We want our country back — we came to stop corruption,” one demonstrator told the BBC. Several protesters interviewed by local outlets said their mobilization was independent of established political parties and driven by young people frustrated with perceived nepotism and corruption.
Protests spread beyond Kathmandu to dozens of municipalities, including Damak, Birtamod, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Bharatpur, Pokhara, Birgunj, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Tulsipur and Dhangadhi. In some places demonstrators targeted official residences, and in Kathmandu protesters breached the perimeter of the parliament complex.
The country’s National Human Rights Commission urged restraint, noting that Nepal’s constitution and international law protect the right to peaceful dissent and calling the use of excessive force and violent incidents "deeply concerning." Leaders from Nepali Congress, a coalition partner of the prime minister, and the main opposition party, CPN (Maoist Center), demanded accountability and called on the prime minister to take responsibility for the violence.
Despite the government lifting the ban and announcing an investigation, protesters continued to defy curfews and maintained a presence near the parliament. Some demonstrators set fire to the communication minister’s home early Tuesday, local media reported. Organizers and activists have said they will press for those they hold responsible to be held to account and for systemic measures to confront corruption.
The unrest marks one of the most widespread episodes of civil unrest in Nepal’s recent history and raises questions about the role of social media in political mobilization, the boundaries of state regulation of platforms and the government’s capacity to manage public dissent without resort to force. Authorities have pledged inquiries, and human-rights groups and political parties have called for transparent investigations into both the crowd violence and the actions of security forces.
The sequence of events — a court order and government mandate to register platforms, the mass deactivation of major services, the rapid spread of an anti-nepotism online movement and the subsequent street mobilization — underscores how digital platforms can rapidly reshape domestic politics. Nepalese officials, activists and international observers will be watching the government’s probe and any subsequent political fallout closely as the country seeks to stabilize the situation and address demonstrators’ demands.