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At least 19 people have been killed and dozens injured in Nepal after demonstrations against a government social media ban led to clashes between protesters and security forces, BBC reported.

Thousands heeded a call by demonstrators describing themselves as Generation Z to gather near the parliament building in Kathmandu over the decision to ban platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube.

Nepal's Minister for Communication Prithvi Subba told the BBC police had to use force - which included water cannons, batons and firing rubber bullets.

The government has said social media platforms need to be regulated to tackle fake news, hate speech and online fraud, according to BBC.

Two persons died in police firing during the protest of Gen Z in Itahari on Monday.

The identities of the deceased are yet to be established.

Their bodies have been kept at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan.

Earlier, the District Administration Office had clamped a curfew after the protest took a violent turn.

Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said that they were compelled to issue a curfew order after the protesters entered the office of the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City and resorted to arson and vandalism.

The National Human Rights Commission has said that excessive force was used against Gen Z protesters on Monday.

Issuing a statement today, human rights watchdog spokesperson Tikaram Pokharel directed the authorities to stop using excessive force against the protesters.

“According to the Constitution of Nepal and international human rights law, any individual or group has the right to express their dissatisfaction in a decent manner. A democratic government must identify the legitimate voices of citizens and address their demands timely. It is unfortunate that such demonstrations have turned into vandalism and arson and that the security forces have used excessive force against the protesters,” the Commission said.

Unrest killed at least 14 people and injured dozens in Nepal's capital on Monday, state TV said, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters trying to storm parliament in anger at a social media shutdown and corruption, Reuters reported.

Some protesters forced their way into the parliament complex by breaking through a barricade, a local official said, setting fire to an ambulance, hurling objects at riot police and ferrying the injured to hospital on motorcycles.

"The police have been firing indiscriminately," one protester told the ANI news agency. "(They) fired bullets which missed me but hit a friend who was standing behind me. He was hit in the hand."

More than 50 people were injured, Nepal Television said, according to Reuters.

There was no official confirmation of the deaths and injuries and Reuters could not independently verify the figures.

Ekram Giri, a parliamentary spokesperson, said some protesters had entered the premises but not the main building, and had been driven out by police.

Organisers of the protests, which spread to other cities in the Himalayan country, have called them "demonstrations by Gen Z". They say the protests reflect young people's widespread frustration with the government and anger over its policies, Reuters reported.