More than 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured during two days of violent protests in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal last week after demonstrations against a government social media ban widened into an outpouring of anger over corruption and governance.
Relatives gathered at city hospitals and the mortuary of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital identified scores of mostly young victims, saying many had been shot. Authorities said they would investigate the fatalities, but it remained unclear who ordered security forces to open fire during the unrest that also saw government buildings torched and the parliament building set ablaze.
The protests began last Monday after thousands heeded a call from demonstrators identifying themselves as Generation Z to gather near the parliament in Kathmandu in objection to a government order that temporarily blocked platforms such as Facebook, X and YouTube. Officials said the measure was intended to regulate social media to tackle misinformation, hate speech and online fraud, and noted it had been reversed late on Monday, Sept. 8. By then, the demonstrations had swelled and turned violent.
Security forces used water cannon, batons and—according to officials—rubber bullets to try to disperse crowds. Protesters set fire to the homes of politicians and to official buildings, and gunfire and blazes contributed to the rising casualty toll. Authorities have repeatedly revised death counts upward as they carried out cleanup and identified victims.
Family members and hospital staff described scenes of grief and anger. Narendra Shrestha, 45, said his 21-year-old son Sulov was shot in the head and that he had identified his body at the hospital. "Who will take responsibility for the death of my son?" he said. "Politicians, they will say sorry. Sorry doesn't make a dead son come alive again."
Rasik KC said his 22-year-old nephew, Rashik Khatiwada, had been shot twice in the chest and that he learned of the death after seeing video on social media. Families of other victims described similar losses: Subash Bohora, 21, was reported to have been killed when a bullet pierced his neck outside the parliament building; Ayush Thapa, 19, a French-language student, was shot in the chest; Abishek Chaulagain, 22, who worked at a hotel in Kathmandu, was shot in the forehead.
Doctors treating the injured said they saw a range of wounds that suggested rounds fired from rifles and shotguns as well as injuries from rubber bullets and explosions. "We saw [two types of bullets] clearly, the long one, which is fired by shotguns, and the small ones with the sharp edge that is fired from rifles," Dr. Santosh Paudel of Bir Hospital said, adding that many patients arrived with multiple bullet injuries.
Hospitals operated under intense pressure. Ranjana Nepal, an information officer at the Civil Service Hospital in Kathmandu, said the emergency room treated more than 450 patients during the protests, and six people died there. At Bir Hospital, Dr. Paudel said his team treated 173 patients in the emergency ward on the first night; five later died and four remained in critical condition.
The government has faced criticism for its handling of the protests and for the initial social media restrictions, which users and business owners said disrupted daily life for millions who rely on the platforms for news, commerce and communication. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had resigned amid political turmoil before the protests intensified; an interim prime minister, Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, has taken office.
Karki has agreed to hold fresh elections on March 5, 2026, and faces the immediate challenge of appointing a new cabinet while restoring public confidence and leading inquiries into the unrest. Authorities said police would investigate the violence; they have not publicly identified who gave any order to use live ammunition, and the government has acknowledged a need to determine responsibility for both the deaths and the widespread vandalism.
Survivors and the injured demanded accountability. From a hospital bed, 22-year-old Abishek Shrestha, who said he had been shot in the leg, said international law prohibits shooting protesters. "I'm Nepali and they are not allowed to shoot me, but they shot me," he said. "We have to change this."
Humanitarian and medical workers said the scale of the injuries and the mix of trauma cases — including burns, gunshot wounds and crush injuries — made the emergency response unusually difficult. Officials are compiling lists of the dead and missing and are working to notify families.
The government said it would pursue an inquiry into the two days of protests and the violence that accompanied them. Investigations by police and other agencies are expected to examine use of force by security personnel as well as incidents of arson, looting and attacks on public buildings.
As families continue to identify the dead at hospitals and mortuaries in Kathmandu, demand for answers and justice has intensified. For many relatives, a formal investigation is only the start of a longer call for accountability and political change.
