The communications blackout continues as a deadly crackdown on protesters continues in the country of 170 million people.
Bangladesh imposed a nationwide curfew and soldiers and police patrolled the capital Dhaka’s largely deserted streets to quell student-led protests against government job quotas.
Dozens of people have been killed and thousands injured this week, Reuters reported, citing data from hospitals across the country. Dhaka Medical College Hospital said it received 27 bodies on Friday, raising the death toll to 110.
Authorities said about 300 police officers were injured and blamed protesters for destroying public property and using violence, accusing the opposition of inciting the unrest.
Soldiers set up checkpoints on Saturday. The government imposed a nighttime curfew. The aim is to thwart protests that have been further intensified by economic uncertainty.
The government has imposed a near-total internet shutdown on China’s 170 million people since Thursday as part of a crackdown on student protests. Text messaging services and international calls remain blocked.
Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury confirmed that gunfire was heard in Dhaka and said the curfew was relaxed for two hours from noon on Saturday to allow people to shop for supplies.
“People are worried as they did not expect the army to be deployed. But some are relieved as there is a lot of respect for the army in Bangladesh,” he said.
“But the mood is just gloomy because so many people have died. People don’t understand why a peaceful student movement has been cracked down on so harshly.”
There has been no official confirmation as to when the curfew will be lifted, but it is expected to remain in place until at least the early hours of Sunday.
The protests have been going on for weeks A surge in violence For the past 3 days.
The demonstrations, which began on June 5 after a high court order ordered the reinstatement of quotas that gave 30 percent of government jobs to the families of veterans who fought for independence from Pakistan in 1971, were initially peaceful.
But the South Asian country is struggling with economic problems including rising food prices and high unemployment. especially among young peopleMany ordinary citizens took part in the protests.
“There are a lot of ordinary people who support the students. There is a lot of discontent in the country at the moment and many people cannot accept the current government and feel that the prime minister has taken power by force,” Al Jazeera’s Chowdhury told IPS.
The protests pose the biggest threat to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government since she was re-elected for a fourth term earlier this year, and she has cancelled planned trips to Spain and Brazil to deal with the fallout.
After the crackdown, protesters demanded accountability before agreeing to meet with government representatives. The state appealed to the Supreme Court, which has halted the reinstatement of the quotas for a month, pending a hearing on August 7.
Meanwhile, many opposition leaders who had voiced support for the student protests were arrested, along with activists and protest organizers.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that it has helped repatriate nearly 1,000 Indian nationals from Bangladesh, while about 4,000 more students remaining in various universities are being provided consular assistance.
