Almost 100 people have died and hundreds have been injured during the anti-government protests in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Nearly 100 people were killed and hundreds injured in anti-government protests across Bangladesh on Sunday, with protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister and accusing them of “sabotage” and cutting off mobile internet. bid to calm the unrest.
Pratham Alo, the country's leading Bengali-language daily, said at least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, had been killed in the violence. Channel 24 news outlet reported at least 85 dead.
The army announced that the new curfew has come into effect on Sunday evening for an indefinite period in the capital Dhaka and other divisional and district headquarters. The government had earlier imposed curfew in Dhaka and other places with few exceptions.
Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after protests started by students last month demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs. Those demonstrations turned into violence that left more than 200 dead.
As fresh violence erupted, Hasina said the protesters involved in “vandalism” and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and she said the public should deal with them with an iron hand.
The ruling Awami League party said the demand for Hasina's resignation had sparked protests by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Even on Sunday, the government has given a holiday from Monday to Wednesday. Courts were to be closed indefinitely. Mobile internet service has been shut down, and messaging apps including Facebook and WhatsApp were inaccessible.
Mohammad Ali Arafat, the junior minister for information and broadcasting, said services were cut to prevent violence.
At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has closed schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a curfew.
Protesters called for “non-cooperation” efforts, asking people not to pay taxes or utility bills and not show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh. Offices, banks and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities faced challenges getting to their jobs.
Protesters stormed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, a major public hospital in Dhaka's Shahbagh area and torched several vehicles.
Video footage shows protesters vandalizing a prison van at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court. Other videos show police firing bullets, rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd. The protesters set fire to vehicles and the office of the ruling party. According to TV footage, some were carrying sharp weapons and sticks.
In Dhaka's Uttara neighborhood, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people blocking a major highway. Demonstrators attacked homes and ransacked a community welfare office in the area, where hundreds of activists of the ruling party were stationed. Some crude bombs exploded, and gunshots were heard, witnesses said. Earlier, 20 people were shot in the area.
At least 18 people have died in the northwestern district of Sirajganj. According to police headquarters in Dhaka, 13 police officers were killed after protesters stormed a police station. The police said that another officer died in the eastern district of Comilla.
Five people were killed in a clash between supporters of Hasina and protesters in the Feni district of southeastern Bangladesh.
Asif Iqbal, resident medical officer at government hospital in Feni, told reporters that they have five dead bodies in the hospital, all of them with bullet wounds. It is not clear whether they are protestors or activists of the ruling party.
According to hospital official Abu Hena, four people were declared dead after being taken to a hospital in Munshiganj district near Dhaka.
Jamuna Television news channel reported that violent clashes broke out in more than a dozen districts, including Chattogram, Bogura, Magura, Rangpur, Kishoreganj and Sirajganj, where protesters backed by the main opposition clashed with police and activists of the ruling Awami League. Party and its associated bodies.
The students started the protest last month demanding an end to the quota system that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
As the violence escalated, the country's Supreme Court ruled that the quota for veterans should be reduced to 5 percent and 93 percent of jobs should be allocated based on merit. The remaining 2 percent will be allocated for ethnic minorities and transgenders and persons with disabilities. The government accepted the decision, but protesters have blamed the government's use of force, demanding accountability for the violence.
The system also sets aside jobs for members of ethnic minorities and for the disabled and transgender, whose quotas have been reduced from a collective 26 percent to 2 percent.
Hasina's administration has accused opposition parties and their student organizations of inciting violence, including the burning or vandalism of several state-owned institutions.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the main opposition party, reiterated his call for the government to resign to prevent chaos.
Hasina offered to hold talks with student leaders on Saturday but was refused by a convenor who announced a one-point demand for her resignation.
Hasina reiterated her promise to investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. He said that the protestors are ready to stay whenever they want.
The movement has become a big challenge for Hasina, who has been ruling the country for more than 15 years. He returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in elections boycotted by his main opponents.
