At Least 12 Are Killed in Nepal in Protests Over Social Media Ban

Asia Pacific|At Least 12 Are Killed in Nepal in Protests Over Social Media Ban

At least 12 people were killed, medical officials said, and scores more injured in Nepal’s capital on Monday during demonstrations against corruption and new government restrictions on social media platforms.

In the capital, Kathmandu, protesters briefly surged toward the Parliament complex, occupying a security building before being dispersed by the police, according to witnesses, who said that the authorities used rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Most of the demonstrators appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

Local news media reported that at least 200 people had been injured.

The authorities imposed a curfew at 12:30 p.m. local time for the area around the Parliament complex, but the protests continued. The government deployed troops and paramilitary forces to control the crowds.

The protests, which spread to other cities on Monday, have put the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli under intense pressure. Mr. Oli was expected to hold an emergency cabinet meeting later on Monday, according to his office.

Seven people died while receiving treatment at the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu, according to Dr. Dipendra Pandey, a doctor there. At Kathmandu Medical College, two others died, and 28 others arrived with injuries, according to Dr. Bibek Limbu at the hospital.

Three people died after being brought from the protests to Civil Service Hospital, according to its executive director, Dr. Mohan Chandra Regmi. Several other patients were in critical condition, Dr. Regmi said.

“Our emergency ward is overloaded,” Dr. Regmi said.

The protest was in response to the government’s ban on dozens of social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. Officials implemented the ban on Thursday after saying that the platforms had failed to comply with new requirements to register with the government.

Free speech is highly prized in Nepal, which has enjoyed robust space for debate as democratic freedoms have shrunk in other South Asian countries. Critics of the prime minister have accused him of trying to curtail freedom of expression.