Nepal’s Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, resigned on Tuesday after violent protests against a social media ban and mounting anger over government corruption.
Oli announced he was stepping down with immediate effect following days of unrest that left 19 people dead when police opened fire on demonstrators.
In a resignation letter to the president, Oli said, “I have resigned from the post of prime minister with effect from today… in order to take further steps towards a political solution and resolution of the problems.”
Although the ban on social media platforms was lifted early Tuesday, protests escalated, with crowds setting fire to the homes of some of Nepal’s most senior political leaders.
Reports and videos circulating online showed protesters targeting residences in and around Kathmandu, prompting authorities to impose a curfew in the capital and other cities.
Schools in Kathmandu were also ordered closed.
Among the properties torched were the homes of Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the largest party Nepali Congress; President Ram Chandra Poudel; Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak; and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
A private school owned by Deuba’s wife, Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba Rana, was also set ablaze.
The mass protests, which began on Monday as a reaction to the social media ban, quickly expanded into a wider display of public anger.
Demonstrators accused Nepal’s political class of entrenched corruption, mismanagement, and neglect of ordinary citizens.