Curfew Re-Imposed In Nepal's Bara District As Gen-Z Protests, CPN-UML Clashes Escalate

Bara: Authorities in Nepal's Bara District were forced to reimpose a curfew on Thursday as tensions flared for a second consecutive day, marked by renewed clashes between youth protesters, commonly referred to as the Gen-Z protest, and cadres of the opposition CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist). The District Administration Office Bara announced the curfew would be in effect until 8:00 PM (local time) to restore order in the volatile Simara area.

The fight primarily took place around the Simara airport and the roads nearby. The root cause of this trouble is the serious political problems Nepal has faced since the violent protests in September. The newest fights started on Wednesday. Young activists, often referred to as Gen-Z, organised a protest. They were demonstrating against the planned visit of major UML party leaders, specifically Shankar Pokharel and Mahesh Basnet, who were coming to the Parwanipur area for a party event.

The protests escalated and started spreading toward the Simara Airport. Because of this, the police had to use tear gas to break up the crowds, and they had to stop flights at the airport. Local government officials first implemented restrictions on Wednesday. They quickly had to reimpose the restrictions on Thursday afternoon because the situation was worsening. This curfew applies to the area immediately surrounding the airport and parts of the Gandak Canal-Pathlaiya Road.

The primary political issue is that the UML party has taken its case to the Supreme Court. They are trying to get the House of Representatives (Nepal's main parliament) back in business after it was dissolved on September 12th due to the huge Gen-Z protests. The young activists strongly dislike the UML's attempt to regain power. They are also demanding that someone be held responsible for the 76 deaths that happened during those September protests.

Meanwhile, the current leader, Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who took office after the September turmoil, has asked everyone to stay calm. She urged all political groups to refrain from causing unnecessary trouble and to trust the democratic process leading up to the new national elections planned for March 5, 2026. These ongoing fights demonstrate the instability of the political situation in Nepal as it attempts to move toward new elections.

Tension continues to prevail in Simara as anti-UML youths remain on the streets, leading to the arrest of two ward chairmen. The situation in Simara, Bara, remains tense, with reports that police set a street on fire and dragged it through the streets. The main demand of the protesters is the immediate arrest and legal action against the UML party workers who were responsible for beating up youths yesterday.

The National Security Council of Nepal has decided to recommend to the Council of Ministers that the army be mobilised for the upcoming House of Representatives election. The National Security Council meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Sushila Karki, resulted in this recommendation.

Suman Raj Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Member Secretary of the National Security Council, provided this information to the Nepalese media. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is continuing its investigation across multiple Indian states, working in close coordination with Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police, and various sister agencies.

The agency further stated that it is pursuing multiple leads to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the bombing and identify others involved in the case.

This is a developing story.