Retired Nepali civil servant Dhruba Shrestha has lived through decades of turmoil, from civil war to political upheaval, but the 76-year-old says nothing compared to the violence that engulfed the Himalayan nation this week.

"I've seen violence since my student days, but never such a riot," Shrestha told AFP Friday, as the army briefly lifted a curfew in Kathmandu.

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