Police kill no less than 17 in Nepal throughout unrest over social media regulation

[ad_1] KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Police in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu opened fireplace Monday on demonstrators protesting a authorities attempt to regulate social media that blocked a few of the world’s largest platforms, together with Fb, X and YouTube. No less than 17 individuals had been killed.

Rallies swept the streets round the Parliament constructing, which was surrounded by tens of 1000's of individuals offended at authorities who stated the businesses had did not register and undergo authorities oversight. No less than 145 individuals had been wounded, officers stated.

Protesters pushed via barbed wire and compelled riot police to retreat contained in the Parliament advanced.

The gunfire unfolded as the federal government pursues a broader try to manage social media with a invoice geared toward guaranteeing the platforms are “correctly managed, accountable and accountable.” The proposal has been extensively criticized as a software for censorship and for punishing authorities opponents who voice their protests on-line.

About two dozen social networks which can be extensively used in Nepal had been repeatedly given notices to register their corporations formally within the Himalayan nation, the federal government stated. People who did not register have been blocked since final week.

Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Meta, the mum or dad firm of Fb, Instagram and WhatsApp, responded to requests for remark from The Related Press. Elon Musk’s X platform didn't reply both.

The video-sharing app TikTok, Viber and three different platforms have registered and operated with out interruption.

The loss of life toll was introduced by police official Shekhar Khanal. He stated 28 officers had been among the many wounded, as smaller protests continued into late Monday night.

The state of affairs remained tense, and the federal government introduced a curfew round Parliament, the federal government secretariat, the presidential home and key elements of the town.

Seven of these killed and scores of wounded had been obtained on the Nationwide Trauma Middle, the nation’s principal hospital within the coronary heart of Kathmandu.

“Lots of them are in critical situation and seem to have been shot within the head and chest,” stated Dr. Badri Risa. Households waited anxiously outdoors for information of their relations whereas individuals lined as much as donate blood.

“Cease the ban on social media. Cease corruption, not social media,” the crowds outdoors Parliament chanted, waving the crimson and blue nationwide flags. Monday’s rally was referred to as the protest of Gen Z, which usually refers to individuals born between 1995 and 2010.

Protestors conflict with the riot police outdoors the Parliament constructing in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Picture/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Riot police stand guard outdoors the Parliament constructing as they conflict with the protesters in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Picture/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Protesters shout slogans as they collect outdoors the Parliament constructing in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Picture/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Protesters shout slogans in entrance of an armored car outdoors the Parliament constructing in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Picture/Niranjan Shrestha)

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The federal government’s proposed invoice consists of asking the businesses to nominate a liaison workplace or a degree of contact within the nation. Rights teams have referred to as it an try by the federal government to curb freedom of expression and elementary rights.

Nepal in 2023 banned TikTok for disrupting “social concord, goodwill and diffusing indecent supplies.” The ban was lifted final 12 months after TikTok’s executives pledged to adjust to native legal guidelines, together with a ban of pornographic websites that was handed in 2018.

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