President seeks end to crisis engulfing Nepal

Nepal's president said Thursday he was seeking an end to the crisis that has engulfed the Himalayan nation since deadly protests this week ousted the prime minister and left parliament in flames.

The army has imposed a curfew in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, with soldiers patrolling the largely quiet streets for a second day after the worst violence in two decades.

President Ramchandra Paudel appealed to "all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought, as soon as possible".

Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel has launched talks with key figures and "representatives of Gen Z", a military spokesperson said, referring to the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.

Demonstrations began on Monday in Kathmandu against the government's short-lived ban on social media and over corruption, with at least 19 people killed in the crackdown.

A day later, protests escalated into an outpouring of rage nationwide, with government offices, a Hilton Hotel and other buildings set on fire.

In the chaos, more than 13,500 prisoners broke out of jails countrywide, leaving security forces scrambling to regain control. Only around 250 have been recaptured, according to Nepal's security forces and an Indian border official.

"Our first demand is the dissolution of parliament," Sudan Gurung, a key figure among the Gen Z protesters, told reporters on Thursday.

"My humble request to everyone, including political parties: please don't send the same old leaders," he said, saying the protesters were not seeking power themselves.

"We don't need positions in government," he said. "We need real reform."

Protests fed into longstanding economic woes in Nepal, where more than a fifth of people aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita just $1,447.