At least 19 people have been killed and dozens injured during violent protests against the government’s social media ban and alleged corruption in Nepal, according to authorities and local media, as police fired live rounds at young protesters and used tear gas and rubber bullets on them.

On Monday, some protesters forced their way into the Parliament complex in the capital, Kathmandu, by breaking through a barricade, a local official said.

One protester told the ANI news agency that the police had been firing “indiscriminately”.

“[They] fired bullets which missed me but hit a friend who was standing behind me. He was hit in the hand,” the protester said.

Seven people died at the National Trauma Centre, chief medical superintendent Dr Badri Rijal told The Associated Press news agency.

“Many of them are in serious condition and appear to have been shot in the head and chest,” Rijal said.

Families waited anxiously outside for news of their relatives while people gathered to donate blood.

Police officer Shekhar Khanal told Reuters that more than 100 people, including 28 police personnel, were receiving medical treatment for their injuries. Two people were killed when protests in the eastern city of Itahari turned violent, police said.

The United Nations has called for accountability following the bloodshed. “We are shocked by the killings and injury of protesters in Nepal today and urge a prompt and transparent investigation,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.

Anurag Acharya, director at the Kathmandu-based think tank Policy Entrepreneurs Inc, says the trigger for the protests may have been the social media ban, but the underlying reasons go much deeper.

“This is the generation that grew up with the optimism and dream of an inclusive new Nepal, a dream that remains elusive a decade after the new constitution was promulgated,” he said.

“The reality for today’s Gen Z is that there are few livelihood prospects at home, which forces thousands to migrate abroad for studies and jobs. So, the frustration with unstable governments and rampant corruption had reached a tipping point,” Acharya told Al Jazeera, referring to the frequent change in governments since the monarchy was abolished in 2008, after 10 years of the Maoist rebellion.

‘Youths against corruption’

Thousands of young people, including students in their school and college uniforms, joined the protest, holding signs that read “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption”, as they marched through Kathmandu.

Ikshama Tumrok, a 20-year-old student, told the AFP news agency that she was protesting against the “authoritarian attitude” of the government.

“We want to see change. Others have endured this, but it has to end with our generation,” she said.

Last week, the government decided to block access to several social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and X, fuelling anger among young Nepalis.

According to officials, the decision was taken because platforms had failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse, including fake social media accounts used to spread hate speech and fake news and commit fraud.

Organisers of the protests, which have been dubbed “demonstrations by Gen Z”, have said their civil disobedience reflects how the youth feel about the government decision.

One protester told ANI that this was “the protest by the new generation in Nepal”.

Muktiram Rijal, a spokesperson for the Kathmandu District Administration Office, told the Reuters news agency that the police had orders to use water cannon, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd and that the army had been deployed.

According to Rijal, the curfew, which will remain in place until 10pm (16:15 GMT), has been extended to Kathmandu’s Singha Durbar area, which includes the prime minister’s office and other government buildings.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called an emergency cabinet meeting in the wake of deadly protests.

On Sunday, the government said in a statement that it respected freedom of thought and expression and was committed to “creating an environment for their protection and unfettered use”.

Acharya, who is based in Kathmandu, slammed the government’s reaction to the protests.

“It treated unarmed school and college-going kids like a criminal mob and ordered police to fire indiscriminately at them. The poorly equipped and outnumbered police used live bullets rather than non-lethal riot control measures,” he said.

“The Home Minister failed to act with maturity and show leadership, but more worryingly, it is the government that failed its citizens, especially the young ones who should have felt safest within the perimeter and periphery of the Parliament building where the protests first escalated.”