Nepal Lifts Curfew in Bara After Gen Z-UML Clashes

In Nepal's southern Bara district, bordering India, authorities lifted a two-day curfew on Friday, restoring normalcy after violent clashes between Gen Z activists and supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), the party of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The unrest, centered in the Simara area near the local airport, injured at least 10 people and prompted flight cancellations and temporary disruptions to daily life.

The tensions erupted on Wednesday when around 100 to 150 Gen Z protesters gathered at Simara Chowk to oppose the scheduled arrival of CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and youth leader Mahesh Basnet. The leaders were set to address a party youth mobilization event in nearby Parwanipur, part of nationwide demonstrations demanding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives, dissolved on September 12. Local CPN-UML cadres, who had assembled to welcome the visitors, clashed with the youths near the airport entrance, about 200 meters from the runway. Witnesses reported that the confrontation began with verbal disputes and escalated into physical assaults, with protesters accusing UML members of initiating the...