Armed soldiers guarded Nepal’s parliament on Wednesday, amid streets deserted after an indefinite curfew was clamped on the capital, Kathmandu, following two days of deadly anti-graft protests that spurred Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worst upheaval in decades in the poor Himalayan nation was unleashed by a social media ban announced last week but rolled back after 19 people died on Monday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burnt vehicles and twisted metal heaps littered the area around parliament, where army firefighters battled to douse a blaze in the main hall, while the exterior was charred after angry protesters set it ablaze on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the victims of the violence was Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, who died after protesters allegedly set her home on fire, according to family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are trying to normalise the situation first,” army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said. “We are committed to protect the life and property of people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Armoured vehicles kept vigil in streets deserted except for a few strollers, with shops and markets shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several other government buildings, from the supreme court to ministers’ homes, including Oli’s private residence, were also set ablaze in Tuesday’s protests, with the unrest subsiding only after the resignation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Armed soldiers guarded Nepal’s parliament on Wednesday, amid streets deserted after an indefinite curfew was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[216,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n