Soldiers guarded Nepal's parliament and patrolled deserted streets on Wednesday amid a curfew in the capital Kathmandu, after two days of deadly anti-corruption protests forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign, APA reports, citing Reuters.
The upheaval in the poor Himalayan nation was unleashed by a social media ban that was announced last week, but was rolled back after 19 people were killed on Monday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control crowds.
The death toll from the protests had risen to 25 by Wednesday, Nepal's health ministry said, while 633 were injured.
Burnt-out vehicles and twisted metal littered the area around parliament, where army firefighters battled to douse a blaze in the main hall, while the building's exterior was charred after protesters set it ablaze on Tuesday.
TV footage showed youths cleaning up some damaged buildings and clearing debris from roads and the areas near parliament.
"I have been informed by the (parliament) security chief that the fire has destroyed the entire infrastructure. Nothing is left," Ekram Giri, spokesperson for the lower house of parliament, told Reuters from his home in Kathmandu.
Several other government buildings, from the Supreme Court to ministers' homes, including Oli's private residence, were also set ablaze in the protests, with the unrest subsiding only after the resignation.
Armoured vehicles kept vigil in streets that were largely deserted, with shops and markets shut. Firefighters were engaged at different locations, while the process of clearing roads was also underway, army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said.
"We are trying to normalise the situation first. We are committed to protecting the life and property of people," Basnet said, adding that prisoners had set Kathmandu's Dilli Bazar Jail on fire before the army controlled the situation.
The main airport in Kathmandu also reopened on Wednesday, an airport spokesperson said, more than 24 hours after flights had been suspended.
