Nepal: Deadly protests: Social media unblocked, Prime Minister resigns

In the wake of the harsh crackdown on protests in Nepal against the blocking of social media, which left 19 dead, the government backtracked and the Prime Minister resigned.

Protests continue in Kathmandu on Tuesday. Photo by Sipa/Safal Prakash Shrestha

Nepal's next prime minister will think twice before suspending social media in his country. Sharma Oli announced his resignation on Tuesday, a day after protests against social media blocking and corruption, which were severely repressed by the police, left 19 dead in the country.

After a day of violent protests, the head of government ordered the restoration of social media and the opening of an "independent" investigation into the conditions in which the police opened fire on the crowd, mainly young people.

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But the public's anger has not subsided. Despite the curfew imposed in the center of the capital, Kathmandu, in the morning, protesters gathered in several locations on Tuesday to denounce the previous day's crackdown.

By Tuesday morning, most social media platforms were back up and running. Last week, his administration suspended 26 platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn, which had failed to register with him within the required timeframe, much to the dismay of millions of their users.