Now comes the complicated question of what happens next.

Plumes of dark smoke towered above soldiers enforcing a curfew on the quiet streets of Kathmandu Wednesday morning as rumors swirled about a possible meeting between the leaderless Gen Z movement, the army and the president.

An uneasy calm seemed to have settled after two nights of chaos that saw tens of thousands of people pour onto the streets to vent their fury, setting fire to parliament and the Supreme Court – key symbols of state – and clashing with the government forces sent to keep them under control. Thirty people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the clashes, according to the health ministry.

The unrest started in early September, when a group of young Nepalis, fed up with seeing politicians’ children posting about their designer handbags and luxury travel while most people struggle to make ends meet, organized a peaceful protest.

Anger had been brewing for years about the country’s worsening youth unemployment crisis and lack of economic opportunities, exacerbated by what many viewed as a growing disparity between the country’s elite and regular people.

Word quickly spread in the Himalayan country of 30 million. Then, a government ban last week on more than two dozen social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp added fuel to the fire.

“The buildup of the frustration was what led to this movement,” Sareesha Shrestha, who attended the protests told CNN, describing the social media ban as the “last straw.”

Demonstrators breach the federal parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday.
Demonstrators breach the federal parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday.

Abhishek Maharjan/Sipa

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15-24 in Nepal was 20.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank, forcing many young people to move abroad to find work. More than a third (33.1%) of Nepal’s GDP came from personal remittances, according to the World Bank, a number that has steadily risen over the past three decades.

“Social media is the only platform where we can talk and share and follow the global media,” said Pramin, a filmmaker in Nepal who attended the protests. “Most of our friends, our families, our brothers, are outside the country so that was the medium of communication.”

On Monday morning, thousands of young people, including many dressed in school uniforms, gathered at Maitighar Mandala, a monument in the heart of Kathmandu near the federal parliament building.

But the protests quickly spiraled out of control when some of the protesters surged towards the parliament building and began climbing up the gate, clashing with police. Police used live ammunition, water cannons, and tear gas against the protesters, according to Reuters news agency.

Nearly 19 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the clashes Monday, according to Nepali authorities.

“We all felt very hopeless and helpless at that point,” Shrestha said.

Several government ministers, including the home minister, resigned in the wake of the violence, which sparked widespread outrage, both within Nepal and internationally.