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Days of unrest in Nepal have left 22 people dead, triggered the resignation of its prime minister and brought troops to the streets of Kathmandu.
Sept. 10, 2025, 5:20 a.m. ET
Nepal was leaderless on Wednesday after protests against corruption and economic inequality triggered the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and the deployment of army troops to the streets of the capital Kathmandu.
Led by teenagers and young adults, these were the most widespread protests in Nepal since it became a democratic republic in 2008. Some demonstrators remained on the streets on Wednesday despite a curfew. At least 22 people died, 19 of them killed in a violent response by the security forces.
Here’s what to know about the protests:
A social media ban lit the fuse.
Last week, Nepal’s government banned 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and WeChat after a deadline elapsed to comply with new requirements like getting licenses and appointing local representatives.
The ban raised fears that speech could be restricted for Nepal’s 30 million people, and hurt tourism, a key industry in which companies rely on social media to reach travelers. The social media blackout also cut off some two million Nepali workers abroad from their families. Nepal’s economy is heavily reliant on the remittances from these workers.
The outrage was rooted in social and economic problems that had been growing for years, particularly the poor state of the economy and the widespread corruption that many in Nepal blame for the country’s troubles.
A social media campaign that purported to expose the luxurious lives of the children of the country’s entrenched elite tapped into that resentment, fueling anger among protesters. It was not clear whether the images in this campaign were real or fabricated but they came to symbolize corruption in Nepal all the same.
