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The embassies of seven different countries based in Kathmandu have expressed their concerns to the violence seen in Kathmandu and other parts of the country on Monday. 

Issuing a joint statement on Monday evening, they stated that they are deeply saddened by the violence seen in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal, including the tragic loss of life and injury during demonstrations. “We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims, all those affected, and wish those injured a swift and full recovery,” according to the Joint Statement by the Embassies of Australia, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America in Nepal.

“Our governments reaffirm our strong support for the universal rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalation, and ensure that these fundamental rights are protected,” read the  statement. 

At least 19 youths were killed and more than 300 seriously injured after police launched a brutal crackdown on protests organized by GenZ in Kathmandu and across the country. In the capital, thousands of young demonstrators marching toward the federal parliament building in New Baneshwar were met with an uncompromising display of state force as they demanded an end to corruption and the lifting of the social media ban to secure the civic space of youths. Security forces fired live ammunition, released teargas, and beat demonstrators in Kathmandu and several other regions, leaving a trail of casualties and widespread outrage.

Police fired water cannons, teargas shells and rubber bullets at the crowd, and eventually opened fire when protesters breached the security barricades near the parliament building. Youth-led rallies in major cities spread beyond Kathmandu. Similar GenZ protests were reported in Jhapa, Itahari, Biratnagar, Pokhara, Butwal, Chitwan, Nepalgunj and other towns across the country. The Nepali Army was deployed in Kathmandu to support police around the parliament building. Army sources confirmed that two to three platoons were sent to Kathmandu at the request of civilian authorities, primarily to secure the Parliament area. The District Administration Office imposed curfew in the major areas of the city.  In Butwal and Bhairahawa, the local administration imposed curfew from late afternoon. Curfew orders were also issued in Sunsari, Pokhara, Itahari, and Rupandehi.

Casualties and eyewitness accounts

Casualty reports began to emerge from Kathmandu’s hospitals Monday afternoon. Trauma Center reported six fatalities, Civil Hospital three, Everest Hospital three, and Kathmandu Medical College (KMC) and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital confirmed a death each. Many wounded protesters were being treated or transferred to other facilities as hospitals became overwhelmed. 

Four journalists covering the protest also suffered rubber-bullet wounds while reporting the clashes.

Two people were killed in police firing in Itahari, Sunsari. According to hospital sources, the victims, estimated to be men aged 25 and 30, died from gunshot injuries. Police said they were taken to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan, where doctors pronounced them dead shortly after arrival.

Thousands of students and youths took to the streets in Jhapa’s Damak. Police fired rubber bullets and one demonstrator was reportedly shot in the head. His condition is said to be critical. 

Eyewitnesses and protesters recounted chaotic scenes. One young demonstrator said that police “were firing on the people, which is against the essence of a peaceful protest,” alleging officers shot indiscriminately. Video and photos showed protesters running past barbed-wire fences and police firing teargas at them. Protesters said the social media ban was only the flashpoint. “We are protesting against corruption that has been institutionalized in Nepal,” said one protester. 

Government response and crackdown

The government reacted by imposing sweeping security measures. Kathmandu’s District Administration Office declared an emergency curfew from 12:30 pm until 10 pm Monday in the city’s high-security zones. Curfews were extended around the president’s and prime minister’s residences and the Singhadurbar. Outside Kathmandu, local administrators in Rupandehi and Sunsari districts banned gatherings and set curfews in Butwal, Bhairahawa and Itahari.

Security forces under orders clamped down hard. Kathmandu officials said police used water cannons, teargas, batons and rubber bullets, resorting to live ammunition only after protests turned violent. 

Communications Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung (also government spokesperson) blamed “anarchists and reactionary forces” for hijacking the protests. He called the deaths “tragic” but said violence was stoked by anti-government agitators. Gurung defended the social media ban as a matter of “national sovereignty,” noting that major companies like Meta (Facebook/Instagram) had refused to register under Nepal’s rules.

International reaction and human rights concerns

International human rights and press freedom organizations swiftly condemned the crackdown. The Committee to Protect Journalists warned that Nepal’s ban on social media “sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom.” The United Nations and Western governments have so far urged calm, but rights monitors point to troubling trends in Nepal. A CIVICUS report noted in May 2025 that Nepal’s civic space was rated “obstructed,” with arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force against demonstrators documented earlier in the year

Amnesty International in April 2025 warned that authorities had been suppressing dissent, using unlawful force and detaining protesters. Journalists’ groups had already denounced the draft Social Media Act and related press bills as threats to free expression. Hundreds of Nepali journalists had staged a peaceful protest in Kathmandu just on Sunday, denouncing the ban on social media platforms.

Observers note that Nepal’s social-media shutdown, which deactivated Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and others last week for failing to register locally, is part of a broader push by the Oli administration to regulate online speech. Many commentators compare it to global moves against big tech, but critics fear it is being used to stifle criticism. The Guardian notes that while Nepal’s constitution nominally protects free expression, Oli’s government has been increasingly accused of authoritarian overreach.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concern over the use of excessive force by security agencies after youth protests against the social media ban and corruption turned violent, resulting in vandalism and arson. In a statement issued on Monday, the commission said a democratic government must recognize and address citizens’ voices on time. While terming the excessive use of force “regrettable,” the NHRC did not make further remarks on the suppression of protests. Instead, it focused on urging the government to immediately provide relief and compensation to the families of those killed.

Amnesty International called for an independent investigation and accountability. “Amnesty International strongly condemns the unlawful use of lethal and less-lethal force by law enforcement in Nepal, resulting in deaths and serious injuries of several protesters. Authorities must exercise maximum restraint and ensure that force is used only when absolutely necessary and proportionate. Every possible precaution must be taken to minimize harm,” Nirajan Thapaliya, director of Amnesty International Nepal, said in a statement.

He added that the government must de-escalate the situation immediately and adopt a rights-respecting approach in policing protests. He emphasized the need for a thorough, independent, and impartial investigation into the deaths, with those responsible held fully accountable, including through criminal prosecution, and full and effective reparations to the victims.

“The protesters have a right to peacefully express their frustration against corruption and restrictions on freedom of expression, including the social media ban. It is the government’s duty to respect these rights and protect protesters from further harm,” Thapaliya said.

Public reaction

The lethal outcome of Monday’s protests has sent shockwaves through Nepali society. Opposition politicians and civil-society leaders have demanded independent inquiries into the use of force. Even within the capital, residents expressed dismay: one Kathmandu resident told reporters the city was in “shock” after seeing the heavy bloodshed.

The main opposition party, CPN (Maoist Center), has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Oli, accusing the government of committing a “massacre.”  Maoist Center’s Deputy General Secretary and former Home Minister Janardan Sharma also called for Oli’s resignation, writing on Facebook that the government should form a joint political mechanism with representation from the protesters. “The government should resign and create a joint political mechanism that includes the protesters’ representatives,” Sharma wrote. He condemned the suppression of the Gen Z movement, urging the government to seriously address their demands instead of resorting to force.

Warning that further delays would be “suicidal,” Sharma said history has proven time and again that movements cannot be silenced through repression. He urged all political forces to admit their failures and apologize to the people. He also appealed to protesters to remain calm and peaceful in their demonstrations. 

For many youths, the events have only galvanized their resolve. One protest leader, despite witnessing the violence, defiantly said: “We have already won today”, reflecting a sentiment among some that the crackdown revealed the movement’s strength. 

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has demanded early elections. The party insists that the current government should be dissolved and a fresh mandate sought from the people. RSP’s secretariat meeting concluded that the current government has completely lost its legitimacy. The party has called for Prime Minister Oli’s resignation and the formation of a high-level judicial commission to investigate the incidents. RSP further stated that the current Congress- and UML-led government has failed to address national issues and has lost its credibility, making it necessary to hold fresh elections.

Several opposition parties have suspended normal campaigning and demanded that security forces be held accountable.

The demonstrations have elicited a mixed response from officials and public figures. Some politicians offered guarded support: former UML minister Gokul Baskota tweeted that “once the Gen Z generation takes charge, no one can stop them,” and urged patience with the “inevitable” change they represent. 

Protests sweep major cities

By Monday morning, the unrest had migrated from social feeds to streets. The protesters carry placards with slogans such as “Social media banned, corruption open” and “Let us speak, government”. Students in uniforms and young workers chanting patriotic songs carried the national flag and banners reading “Free voice is our right” and “Stop corruption”. 

Demonstrators insisted they would keep the marches peaceful, even planning to avoid speeches and instead end with singing and dancing, and they explicitly barred political parties and office-seekers from hijacking the event. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra “Balen” Shah publicly supported the protest, writing on Facebook that he “fully support(s)” the demonstrators and urging leaders not to use the rally for their own interests. 

Outside Kathmandu, similar scenes played out. Gen Z activists used TikTok and Viber to coordinate parallel rallies in Pokhara, Biratnagar, Inaruwa, Dharan, Dang and other cities. Media and onlookers noted that the demonstrations drew far larger crowds than any recent youth-led protests in Nepal. One observer called it “one of the most conspicuous political demonstrations in Nepal in recent memory”. 

Protesters held creative online hashtags, notably #NepoKid and #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal, which trended immediately after the platform’s ban. They chanted and posted memes mocking political elites: for example, a viral TikTok trend juxtaposed images of leaders’ children in luxury against youths’ hardships. Slogans and placards explicitly named corruption, with messages like “Where did the taxes go?”

Tough action and reaction

On Sept 4, the government ordered regulators to shut off “unregistered” social networks, citing a law that platforms must open local liaison offices and register in Nepal. Communications Minister Gurung told reporters that roughly two dozen widely used apps were repeatedly warned to comply with this rule, and those that did not would be blocked immediately.

As a result, popular services went dark overnight on Sept 4-5. Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, X (formally Twitter), YouTube, Reddit, Snapchat, Pinterest, Signal, among others, were forced offline. A handful of platforms,  notably TikTok, Viber and a few Nepali apps, had already registered and remained accessible. The government defended the shutdown as an effort to make foreign platforms “responsible and accountable,” part of an as-yet-unpassed social media law and court rulings that require registration and tax payment.

The grafted “#NepoBaby”

While the social media shutdown lit the spark, protesters channeled their anger toward broader grievances of graft and inequality. Over recent weeks Nepali social media has been buzzing with the “Nepo Baby” campaign, an expose of the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children, reflecting deep resentment of nepotism. Countless TikTok and Instagram posts contrasted ordinary youths’ struggles with images of leaders’ kids returning from foreign study trips or sporting luxury brands. A popular online slogan encapsulated the mood: “Leaders’ children come home from abroad with Gucci bags, while the people’s children lie in coffins.”

That videos under hashtags like #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal directly questioned “whether privilege or personal effort drives politicians’ children’s success”. Protest organizers and attendees cited such inequality as a root cause of their discontent. One university student at the rally said that corruption has “increased,” pointing out that infrastructure projects often take years with no accountability. Another asked why taxes are “not spent for the people’s welfare” but instead used by leaders to travel abroad or enrich themselves.

These complaints tie into broader corruption scandals in Nepali politics. The Gen Z movement has spotlighted, for instance, the family of Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, including his son Jaiveer Deuba, as emblematic “Nepo Babies” with outsized wealth. Activists also derided other elite figures, from former prime ministers’ kin to wealthy party cadres, for benefiting from public office. Demands at the protests explicitly linked the social media ban to this climate of impunity: writings on placards demanded answers on how leaders “filled their pockets” while ordinary people lack jobs, healthcare and medication. 

In short, the movement transformed the Facebook shutdown into a lightning rod for Nepalis’ long-simmering resentment over nepotism, misuse of public funds and widening inequality.

Historical context

Nepal has a rich history of youth-led political movements, but the current uprising is unusual in its online roots and social-media focus. In 1990 and again in 2006, large mass protests, many led by students and young activists, forced authoritarian and monarchical governments to concede to democracy. The new protests share that anti-corruption spirit but are distinct in being organized almost entirely through digital platforms and taking place in a post-2015 republic. Analysts dub the current wave a “GenZ Revolution,” noting it was “ignited” by the latest ban on social platforms

Underpinning the unrest is longstanding frustration with corruption and economic hardship in Nepal. According to analysts, many young Nepalis feel their generation has been let down by unaccountable leaders. As one commentator put it, Nepal’s youth were already “triggered by the social media ban,” but the ban merely became “the final spark” for latent anger at graft and inequality. Thus far, the GenZ protests have been peaceful by design, buses and supply trucks were sent to aid vulnerable protesters, and organizers emphasized non-violence, until Monday’s outbreak of clashes. The coming days will test whether the movement maintains that discipline or further escalates, and whether the government will relent or hold firm.

Home Minister Lekhak resigns, government forms probe committee 

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has resigned from his post, taking moral responsibility for Monday’s violent turn of the youth-led GenZ protests. Lekhak tendered his resignation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during the Cabinet meeting held on Monday evening. Earlier in a party meeting, he had already indicated that he would not remain in office on moral grounds.

The government has decided to form a high-level probe committee to investigate the incident. A minister confirmed that the Cabinet has given the committee a 15-day deadline to submit its report to the government.

The terms of reference (ToR) for the investigation have been finalized, while the coordinator and members of the committee will be decided in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Oli, during the cabinet meeting, concluded that the demonstrations had been infiltrated.The prime minister added that the GenZ movement had been misused to incite violence.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that he will resign on moral grounds.

“I should resign on moral grounds following the incident that took place today. I have also told the Nepali Congress meeting that I will resign from the post,” he said.

Earlier in the Congress office bearers meeting, President Sher Bahadur Deuba had directed Home Minister Lekhak to resign and pave the way.

A Cabinet meeting is underway at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s residence in Baluwatar.

At least 19 Gen Z protesters died in clashes with security personnel across the country today.

Health Minister Pradip Paudel has directed all federal hospitals under its subordination to ensure free treatment to those injured in the course of today's demonstration in Kathmandu.

The circular to this regard asks for prompt treatment of the injured in the protests waged by the 'Gen Z' group.

The Ministry directs bodies concerned for making the ambulance services further effective and its timely reach in the needy areas.

Ambulance service network in the Kathmandu Valley has been called to facilitate the transport of referral cases from the hospitals.

Likewise, the entire health professionals including doctors have been urged to get united in the handling of the injured cases ensuring access to treatment.

Three photojournalists were injured during Gen Z’s protest in New Baneshwor on Monday.

The injured have been identified as Naya Patrika photo journalist Dipendra Dhungana, Nepal Press photo journalist Umesh Karki, and Kantipur Television journalist Shyam Shrestha.

They are undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital in New Baneshwor.

Earlier, police had opened fire to disperse the mob.

Journalists Dhungana and Karki were injured by bullet shrapnel. Journalist Shrestha was hit by a rubber bullet in the arm.

Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country on Sunday that the centre-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis, Reuters reported.

March for Australia rallies against immigration were held in Sydney and other state capitals and regional centres, according to the group's website.

"Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together," the website says. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do "what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration".

Mass protests have erupted across Indonesia after 21-year-old ride-sharing driver Affan Kurniawan was killed by a police vehicle during a demonstration. Clashes have left at least three dead and several injured, including in Makassar, where the regional parliament was set on fire, BBC reported.

Protesters, many from Kurniawan’s employer Gojek, demand justice, higher wages, lower taxes, and stronger anti-corruption measures. Frustration over lawmakers’ new allowance, nearly 10 times Jakarta’s minimum wage, has fueled unrest.

President Prabowo Subianto, Jakarta officials, and police have expressed condolences and issued apologies. Seven police officers were found to have violated professional ethics. Despite this, demonstrations continued, with some protesters blocking police convoys and throwing projectiles, according to BBC.

Thousands attended Kurniawan’s funeral, highlighting the human cost of the tragedy. Gojek pledged support to his family, calling his death a profound loss.

Indonesian students said they will protest at Jakarta's police headquarters on Friday (Aug 29) after a motorcycle rider died when he was hit by a police vehicle during violent clashes following a demonstration outside the parliament the day before, Reuters reported.

Muzammil Ihsan, head of Indonesia's largest student union, told Reuters that students will protest against police violence on Friday afternoon, and he expected other student groups to attend.

On Thursday, demonstrators were protesting a number of issues including lawmakers' pay, education funding and the government's school meals programme. As the protest persisted into the night, local media reported that riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons to try to disperse people, according to Reuters.

More than 1,000 supporters of Sri Lanka’s former president Ranil Wickremesinghe protested his arrest in Colombo on Tuesday ahead of a crucial hearing to decide whether to grant bail to the senior opposition politician accused of misusing public funds during his presidency, Associated Press reported.

Wickremesinghe, who was president from 2022 to 2024, was arrested last Friday over accusations of using public funds to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony in London after an official visit to the United States in 2023. The court ordered him to be detained until Tuesday’s hearing. 

Wickremesinghe’s arrest has caused uproar with opposition lawmakers and politicians claiming it is a political witch hunt that undermines the country’s democracy.

On Tuesday, supporters and opposition activists gathered on the main streets leading to the Magistrates’ Court in protest, according to Associated Press.

Thousands of Australians joined pro-Palestinian rallies on Sunday, organisers said, amid strained relations between Israel and Australia following the centre-left government's decision to recognise a Palestinian state, Reuters reported.

More than 40 protests took place across Australia on Sunday, Palestine Action Group said, including large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The group said around 350,000 attended the rallies nationwide, including around 50,000 in Brisbane, though police estimated the numbers there at closer to 10,000. Police did not have estimates for crowd sizes in Sydney and Melbourne, according to Reuters.

In Sydney, organiser Josh Lees said Australians were out in force to "demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel" as rallygoers, many with Palestinian flags, chanted "free, free Palestine".

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella group for Australia's Jews, told Sky New television that the rallies created "an unsafe environment and shouldn't be happening".

A new political party formed by the students who spearheaded an anti-government movement ousting former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday rallied in Bangladesh’s capital and pledged to build a new Bangladesh amid political uncertainty over the next election, Associated Press reported.

Separately, supporters of the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, also held a rally in the capital, Dhaka, where party leaders also vowed to work to establish democracy following the fall of Hasina.

The rallies took place two days before the country’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is marking the anniversary of Hasina’s fall, according to Associated Press.

Ukraine’s parliament has voted 331-0 to restore the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies, reversing a controversial move that sparked mass protests and international concern, Al Jazeera reported.

The bill, submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky, rolls back changes that had allowed the prosecutor general to sideline the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

The reversal comes after intense pressure from citizens, opposition lawmakers, and European officials, who warned it could threaten Ukraine’s EU bid. Protesters outside parliament cheered as the bill passed, marking a significant win for democratic accountability, according to Al Jazeera.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that critics say weakens the independence of the country's anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests and drawing international criticism, BBC reported.

Critics say the new law undermines the authority of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo) - placing them under the control of the prosecutor general.

In an address on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still "work", but needed to be cleared of "Russian influence". 

After the bill passed, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv for the biggest anti-government protest since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to BBC.

Police used tear gas to disperse angry students in Bangladesh on Tuesday who demanded answers from the interim government after an air force fighter jet crashed into a Dhaka school and killed 31 people, at least 25 of them children, Reuters reported.

The children, many aged under 12, were about to return home from class on Monday when the Chinese-manufactured F-7 BGI Bangladesh Air Force jet ploughed into their school and burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and debris.

The military said it had suffered mechanical failure, according to Reuters.

Students from the school and others from nearby colleges protested as two government officials visited the crash site, demanding an accurate death toll and shouting, "Why did our brothers die? We demand answers!"

At least 31 people have been killed and over 100 injured in Kenya following nationwide anti-government protests, according to the National Commission on Human Rights. Over 500 arrests and two forced disappearances were also reported.

The demonstrations, held on Saba Saba Day, turned violent in cities including Nairobi and Eldoret. The commission accused police of excessive force and collusion with armed gangs, according to Al Jazeera.

Protests, largely youth-led, have continued since 2024 over tax hikes, economic hardship, and corruption. Rights groups condemned police for defying court orders and using military-grade weapons. The total death toll since the unrest began now exceeds 100.

Protesting doctors have put off their protest after the government and Nepal Medical Association reached a three-point agreement. 

Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Paudel, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari and representatives from the Ministry of Health and Population and the Nepal Medical Council, the umbrella organization of the medical doctors, were present in the agreement signing ceremony.

Doctors across the country had been staging protests over the Consumer Court's verdict that imposed hefty penalties on the doctors found guilty of gross negligence that led to serious complications and patients' death. 

The healthcare providers had been shutting down all services except for emergencies in the private and public healthcare facilities across the country.

As per the newly inked agreement, a task force would be formed to furnish recommendations on the amendment on the existing legal and policy provisions. The team has been tasked to submit a report within seven days.

Similarly, it has been agreed that the report received from the task force will be submitted to the dialogue team and implemented accordingly. 

It has also been agreed that the concerned ministry will seek in-principle consent from the Council of Ministers within 11 days for the necessary amendments to the existing legal and policy provisions, including the Consumer Protection Act, 2075 BS, and that the process for amending the law through the fast-track method will be taken forward.

As a result, the Nepal Medical Association has agreed to suspend all types of protests with effect from today and resume regular services.

It may be noted that the doctors had launched the protest demanding amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, 2075 BS, after the Consumer Court imposed hefty penalties including financial compensation to some hospitals and doctors for negligence in the treatment of patients.