Students protesting against the government job quota system clash with riot police in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Rajiv Dhar/AP
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Rajiv Dhar/AP
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police have imposed a strict night-time curfew with “shoot on sight” orders across the country. Bangladesh Army troops patrolled parts of the capital on Saturday, but dozens of people were killed and hundreds were injured. Conflict over the placement of civil servants.
Obaidul Quader, secretary general of the ruling Awami League, said the curfew would begin at midnight, be relaxed between noon and 2 p.m. to allow people to run essential errands, and continue until 10 a.m. on Sunday, and that in extreme cases police would be allowed to open fire on mobs.
The demonstrations, mainly called by student groups, began several weeks ago to protest against a quota system that reserves up to 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the war. Bangladesh War of Independence, 1971. Violence erupted on TuesdayThe daily Prothom Alo reported that at least 103 people were killed.
Friday Likely to be the deadliest day So far, Somoi TV has reported that 43 people have died, and an Associated Press reporter saw 23 bodies at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, but it was not immediately clear whether all of them had died on Friday. On Thursday, 22 more people were reported to have died as protesting students tried to “shut down the country completely.”
The US Embassy in Dhaka said on Friday there were reports of “hundreds and possibly thousands” of injuries across Bangladesh and described the situation as “highly volatile.”
Bangladeshi authorities have not released an official figure for the dead or injured.
Authorities said the curfew was intended to quell further violence after police and protesters clashed in the streets and on university campuses in Dhaka and cities across South Asia. Authorities banned mobile phone and internet services, cutting off online communications. Several television news channels went off the air and most local newspaper websites were taken down. Meanwhile, key government websites, including those of the Bangladesh Central Bank and the Prime Minister’s Office, appeared to be hacked and defaced.
Local media also reported that around 800 inmates escaped from a prison in Narsingdi district, north of the capital, after protesters stormed the facility and set it on fire on Friday.
Highlights of the confusion Bangladesh’s governance and economic rifts Young people are frustrated because they cannot find good jobs after graduation. This is one of the biggest challenges facing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since taking office. Won four consecutive terms He took power after January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition group.
Protesters say the quota system is discriminatory and favours supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party, which led the independence movement, and should be replaced with a meritocratic system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying veterans should receive the fullest respect for their service in the war with Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation.
Representatives from both sides met late on Friday to try to find a solution. At least three student leaders attended, demanding reforms to the current quota system, reopening of student dormitories closed by police after the clashes, and the resignation of university officials who failed to protect campuses from violence. Law Minister Anisul Haq said late on Friday that the government was ready to discuss their demands.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has supported the protests and vowed to organise its own demonstrations on Friday after many of its supporters joined the student protests. But in a statement it said its supporters were not responsible for the violence and rejected accusations by the ruling party that it was using the protests for political gain.
The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of stoking political unrest and violence. Crackdown on several opposition leadersHasina’s government has accused the opposition of trying to disrupt the vote.
In 2018, the government suspended the quotas following massive student protests. But in June, Bangladesh’s High Court quashed that decision and reinstated the quotas after a petition was filed by families of 1971 army veterans. The Supreme Court reserved the ruling pending an appeal and said in a statement that it would consider the matter on Sunday.
Prime Minister Hasina called on protesters to await the court’s verdict.
