Army patrols Kathmandu as Gen Z claims protests were ‘hijacked’

Nepal’s army has deployed patrols on the streets of the capital Kathmandu, as the Himalayan nation reels from its worst unrest in decades.

Protests against corruption spiralled into arson and violence on Tuesday. The prime minister quit as politicians’ homes were vandalised, and government buildings and parliament torched. Thirty people died and more than 1,000 were injured over two days of violence.

“Gen Z” groups spearheading the protests distanced themselves from the destruction, saying they had been “hijacked” by “opportunists”.

On Wednesday, Kathmandu’s airport reopened and the capital was relatively quiet as most residents obeyed a curfew, but smoke still rose from burning buildings.

The military, which is trying to control a spiralling situation, has invited the Gen Z protesters to engage in peace talks. Student leaders are consolidating a fresh list of demands, one of their representatives told the BBC.

Nationwide curfews are in place until Thursday morning and the army has warned violence and vandalism will be punished. Twenty-seven people have been arrested over violence and lootings and 31 firearms found, it added.

Officers are checking vehicle IDs at military checkpoints across the capital and urging people to stay at home. “No unnecessary travel” their voces blare through loudspeakers.

Still, some young people were out, carrying bin liners and wearing masks, cleaning up the damage caused by the protests.

“This corruption thing has been in Nepal since a very, very long time, and I think it is high time that the nation needs to change,” said Ksang Lama, 14, who did not attend the protests. “I really hope that it can bring something positive to our country.”

Parash Pratap Hamal, 24, did take part in the protests. He believes Nepal “needs independent political figures” and cites Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah as someone who would make a good leader.

“People are hopeful now, after this revolution,” said 36-year-old Rakesh Niraula who lives in eastern Nepal. “There is hope for better governance… We feel like it was a lesson for leaders to improve themselves so the country can have a bright future.”

Even as they welcomed the prospect of change, some Nepalis told the BBC the violence and vandalism that marked the protests had taken them by surprise.

“Personally I believe this shouldn’t have happened,” Mr Niraula says.

Prabhat Paudel, an entrepreneur who lives in the city of Lalitpur, said he had been shocked by the burning of government buildings such as the Supreme Court “which is our own national wealth”.

But many protesters are worried the movement has been co-opted by “infiltrators” – a claim echoed by the army.

“We are mainly in the process of controlling elements who are taking advantage of the situation to loot, set fires and cause various incidents,” military spokesman Rajaram Basnet told the BBC.

A statement issued by protesters said the movement “was and remains non-violent and rooted in the principles of peaceful civic engagement”. They added that they were volunteering on the ground to “responsibly manage” the situation, safeguard citizens and protect public property.

They also said no further protests were scheduled from Wednesday onwards, and called on the military and police to implement curfews as necessary.

The demonstrations were ostensibly triggered by the government’s decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – but they have since grown to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal’s political elite.

In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media.

And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum. Nineteen protesters were killed in clashes with police on Monday.

Those deaths fuelled the anger and unrest on Tuesday, when three more deaths were reported. Two police personnel also lost their lives, authorities say.

Protests continued unabated, with a crowd in Kathmandu torching the headquarters of the Nepali Congress Party, which is part of the governing coalition, and the house of its leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, a former PM.

Hundreds of protesters also broke into and torched the parliament building, smashing windows and spray-painting anti-corruption graffiti on the walls.

The Singha Durbar, a large complex that houses government offices, was also stormed, and the Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that it had postponed all hearings of pending cases indefinitely because of severe damage.

Among those injured in the unrest was the wife of former PM Jhalanath Khanal who suffered serious burns when protesters set fire to their house in Kathmandu on Tuesday. Some news outlets reported that Ravilaxmi Chitrakar had died, but her husband told BBC Nepali she remained alive in a critical condition in intensive care at Kirtipur Burns Hospital in the capital.

She was in the upper floor of the house when it was set on fire and was unconscious when emergency services rescued her, having gained entry by ladder from a neighbouring property.

During the chaos on Tuesday, thousands of inmates escaped from prisons around the country, local officials told BBC Nepali.

Five young inmates were killed late on Tuesday when security forces opened fire at escapees from a juvenile correctional facility in Banke, in western Nepal. According to a director at the prison, they were all under the age of 18.

The PM’s resignation has left a leadership vacuum but it is not clear who will replace him, or what happens next, with seemingly no-one in charge.

“Looking ahead, we believe Nepal’s future leadership must be free from entrenched political party affiliations, fully independent, and selected on the basis of competence, integrity, and qualifications,” the Gen Z protesters said in their statement.

“We demand a transparent and stable government that works in the interest of the people and not for the benefit of corrupt individuals or political elites.”

It is a sentiment that resonates with Taru Karki, a 40-year-old social worker in Kathmandu.

“There is deep anxiety and innocent young people have died,” she says, adding that what the country now needs is peace and the end of corruption that brought so many people on to the streets in frustration.

“Enough is enough.”

Additional reporting by BBC Nepali’s Pradeep Bashyal and Pawan Paudel in Kathmandu