Into the Heart of Unrest

From PDN:

Photojournalist Tomas van Houtryve has been covering political unrest in Nepal for years, from the rise in power of King Gyanendra Shah to the secretive Maoist insurgency. This spring, when popular outrage against the monarch reached a boiling point, he knew he had to return to Kathmandu.

“When we arrived in the neighborhood of Kalanki, a full street battle was taking place. A riot policeman initially screamed threats at me to stop taking pictures, but soon they were too overwhelmed by rock throwing protesters to worry about us. The air stung with tear gas as I followed charging police toward the crowd. One of the officers was firing an assault rifle just over the heads of demonstrators. My main challenge was trying to get between the two sides to take photos while finding enough cover to keep clear from the volleys of rocks and bullets. I raced into a field with retreating protesters and one pulled me into a room where injured people were splayed across the floor.”

Here.