KATHMANDU: Nepali soldiers patrolled the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday (Sep 10), seeking to restore order after protesters set parliament ablaze and forced the prime minister to quit in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan nation in two decades.
Protests had began Monday in the Nepali capital against the government’s ban on social media and over corruption, but escalated into an outpouring of rage nationwide with government buildings set on fire after a deadly crackdown claimed at least 19 lives.
The rapid descent into chaos shocked many, and Nepal’s military warned against “activities that could lead the country into unrest and instability” in the country of 30 million people.
Soldiers issued orders via loudspeakers on the streets, as tanks rumbled past the carcasses of burnt vehicles and tyres.
The army warned Wednesday that “vandalism, looting, arson, or attacks on individuals and property in the name of protest will be treated as punishable crimes”.
Kathmandu’s airport is expected to resume operations later on Wednesday at 6pm local time, manager Hansa Raj Pandey told Nepali media.
Smouldering plumes of smoke rose from the government buildings, residences of politicians, supermarkets and other buildings targeted by protesters, an AFP reporter said Wednesday.
Firefighters doused remaining blazes, including at the tower block of the key Kantipur media group.
“It is quiet today, the army is on the streets in all places”, one soldier inspecting cars at a makeshift street checkpoint said, who could not be named as he was not authorised to speak to reporters.
Gangs on Tuesday had attacked and set fire to the house of KP Sharma Oli, the 73-year-old, four-time prime minister and leader of the Communist Party.
He later quit to allow “steps towards a political solution”. His whereabouts are not known.
Witnesses also said protesters had set fire to the homes of some politicians in Kathmandu, and local media said some ministers had been plucked to safety by military helicopters.
The Singha Durbar area, which houses the Prime Minister’s Office and other ministries as well as Parliament House, and Oli’s private residence was also set on fire, they said.
Footage circulating on social media showed former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana, foreign minister under Oli, and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel being attacked by protesters.
Reuters could not immediately verify the information.
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