KATHMANDU — Nepal has been thrown into turmoil after violent protests turned deadly, leaving the wife of the Prime Minister and several top officials dead.
According to local reports, demonstrators set fire to the presidential palace on Tuesday, trapping the Prime Minister’s wife inside. She was confirmed dead at the scene.
The unrest, which has spread across the capital and beyond, also saw the Finance Minister stripped, beaten, and drowned by angry mobs. Several other government ministers and officials were attacked, with their homes torched.
Eyewitnesses said helicopters were used to evacuate fleeing officials as the protests escalated.
The protesters, chanting against corruption and rising state repression, declared that they were demanding an end to government corruption and the immediate lifting of the ban on social media platforms.
Security forces have been deployed across Kathmandu, but clashes continued late into the night, with reports of gunfire and widespread destruction.
International observers have expressed concern over the situation, warning that Nepal may be sliding into its worst political crisis in decades.
