Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was forced to resign on Tuesday by angry young anti-corruption protesters who defied a curfew and clashed with police a day after 19 people died in a first day of protests.
Demonstrations led by young people angry about the blocking of several social media sites gripped the country’s capital a day earlier, and police opened fired on the crowds, killing 19 and injuring 100.
The ban was lifted Tuesday, but the protests continued, with demonstrators setting fire to the homes of some of Nepal’s top leaders and the parliament building. The airport in the capital of Kathmandu was shut, and army helicopters ferried some ministers to safe places.
As the protests intensified, Oli, 73, said he was stepping down immediately.
“In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution,” Oli said in his resignation letter to President Ramchandra Paudel.
WATCH l Nepal’s parliament burns: 
Smoke billows from Nepal’s parliament during anti-government protests
Nepal’s parliament was set on fire Tuesday, sending billowing clouds of smoke into the sky as anti-government demonstrators continued to protest, even as the prime minister stepped down in the face of widespread outrage around corruption and a deadly police clampdown on demonstrations.
Paudel, the ceremonial head of state, made a public appeal to the protesters to come forward for dialogue to find a peaceful resolution and stop further escalating of the situation.
Jubilant youths entered the parliament complex after hearing that Oli had resigned, waving their hands and shouting slogans as smoke rose from sections of the building.
“We won,” one wrote in huge orange letters on the wall of the parliament building.
Protesters take selfies and celebrate at the Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepalese government ministries and offices, after it was set on fire during a protest against a social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu on Tuesday. (Niranjan Shrestha/The Associated Press)
The army issued a statement calling for calm and urging political dialogue, but did not give any other details.
The demonstrations began after the government blocked platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, saying the companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight.
But even after the sites came back online, the rallies continued, fuelled by anger over the deaths of protesters at the hands of police and growing frustration with the political elite in the nation wedged between China and India.
WATCH l PM, several other politicians’ residences attacked: 
Fire rips through residence of Nepalese PM who quit amid protest
Cameras captured a fire at the Kathmandu residence of KP Sharma Oli, who resigned as Nepal’s prime minister as anti-corruption, anti-government protests in the country escalated.Youth unemployment high
In particular, many young people are angry that the children of political leaders — so-called Nepo Kids — seem to enjoy luxurious lifestyles and numerous advantages while most youth struggle to find work. With youth unemployment running at 20 per cent last year, according to the World Bank, the government estimates more than 2,000 young people leave the country every day to seek work in the Middle East or southeast Asia.
“I am here to protest about the massive corruption in our country,” said Bishnu Thapa Chetri, a student. “The country has gotten so bad that for us youths there is no grounds for us to stay.”
Organizers of the protests, which spread to other cities, have called them “demonstrations by Gen Z,” driven by young people’s frustration with a perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.
“The protest was intended, first and foremost, against the rampant corruption in government,” a protester said in an email to Reuters, signing off as “A concerned Nepali citizen.”
Young Nepalis had been posting on social media about the “luxurious lives of the families and children of corrupt politicians and civil servants” until the government clamped down on the platforms, the email said.
Protesters burn tires, violating the curfew orders in Kathmandu on Tuesday. (Niranjan Shrestha/The Associated Press)
On Tuesday, local media and videos shared on social media showed protesters attacking the residences of the top political leaders in and around Kathmandu.
In addition to Oli’s private home, the houses set on fire included those of Paudel, Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the largest party Nepali Congress, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and leader of the Communist party of Nepal Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
The presidential palace and a building that houses the offices of the prime minister and several ministries were all torched. Thick smoke rose from the prime minister’s office building.
A curfew was imposed in the capital and other cities, and schools in Kathmandu were closed, but several protests continued in the capital despite the measures.
A demonstrator shouts slogans during a protest outside parliament in Kathmandu on Monday. Young people helped spur the protests. (Prabin Ranabhat/AFP/Getty Images)Social media ban widely condemned
Monday’s rallies against the ban swelled to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu and crowds surrounded the Parliament building before police opened fire on the demonstrators.
“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowds chanted, waving national flags.
Before his resignation, Oli said in a statement he was forming an investigating committee to submit a report in 15 days and that compensation would be given for the lives lost and free treatment for the wounded.
The proposal has been widely criticized as a tool for censorship and for punishing government opponents who voice their protests online. The bill includes asking the companies to appoint a liaison office or a point of contact in the country.
Rights groups have called it an attempt by the government to curb freedom of expression and fundamental rights. The registration requirement applied to about two dozen social networks widely used in Nepal.
Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press. Elon Musk’s X platform did not respond either.
TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption. Nepal in 2023 banned TikTok for disrupting “social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials.”
The ban was lifted last year after TikTok’s executives pledged to comply with local laws, including a ban of pornographic sites that was passed in 2018.
An aerial view shows demonstrators gathered outside Nepal’s parliament during a protest in Kathmandu on Monday, condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government. Nepal police opened fire, killing at least 19 people, as thousands of young protesters took to the streets demanding the government lift a social media ban and tackle corruption. (Prabin Ranabhat/AFP/Getty Images)