In 1996 the Maoist insurgency launched a violent campaign to overthrow the political-economic status quo, redistribute land and affect a ‘proletarian revolution’ in Nepal. The ensuing civil war caused human rights violations and killings of more than 13,000, as well as a decline in Nepal's GDP growth rate, fuelled by a drop in tourist arrivals and the destruction of infrastructure. Following the assassination of King Birendra and his family in 2001 by Maoist insurgents, the multi-party democracy was placed under a State of Emergency by the preceding King, tightly controlling the opposition, censoring news and media organisations, and shutting down telecommunications in parts of the country. The civil war developed into a military and political stalemate that ended in 2005. Protests against the political and economic situation drew an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and 5 million in the entire country.