Violence marred Bangladesh after days of peace as anti-government protestors on Sunday again hit the streets demanding PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
Demonstrators resumed their protest in huge numbers as part of their non-cooperation plan aimed at unsettling the government.
Vast crowds of protesters, many wielding sticks, packed into Dhaka‘s central Shahbagh Square on Sunday, with street battles in multiple sites as well as in other key cities, police told news agency AFP.
Later, the protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with the government supporters who also took to the streets on Sunday.
Police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters.
In the wake of the sudden surge in clashes, the interior ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 pm (1200 GMT).
However, sustained crackles of gunfire after dark were heard on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew, according to AFP.
At least 91 people, including 14 policemen, have been killed and hundreds injured in fierce clashes, forcing authorities to cut off mobile internet and enforce a nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.
What triggered the protest?
The protests began last month following a High Court order to restore 30 per cent job quotas for descendants of freedom fighters.
Nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education in Bangladesh with a population of 170 million. The students called for striking down a 30 per cent reservation quota for the families of freedom fighters.
Hasina’s refusal to meet the students’ demands, citing the ongoing court proceedings, escalated the situation.
Her comments, labelling those opposing the job quotas as ‘Razakars’, who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 War of Independence, prompted thousands of students to leave their dormitories at Dhaka University to protest last month.
Hasina’s remark further fuelled the tension which turned into deadly and widespread civil unrest across the nation, claiming over 120 lives.
Later, Bangladesh’s top court scaled back the controversial quota system for civil service job applicants, reducing its scope but stopping short of complete abolition.
What govt has to say
PM Sheikh Hasina said those protesting were not students but terrorists and urged people to “suppress them with a firm hand”.
Those engaging in sabotage in the name of protest across the country are not students but terrorists, she said, according to Prothom Alo newspaper.
Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs at Ganabhaban, the newspaper reported citing sources from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said. The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.
Demonstrators resumed their protest in huge numbers as part of their non-cooperation plan aimed at unsettling the government.
Vast crowds of protesters, many wielding sticks, packed into Dhaka‘s central Shahbagh Square on Sunday, with street battles in multiple sites as well as in other key cities, police told news agency AFP.
Later, the protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with the government supporters who also took to the streets on Sunday.
Police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters.
In the wake of the sudden surge in clashes, the interior ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 pm (1200 GMT).
However, sustained crackles of gunfire after dark were heard on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew, according to AFP.
At least 91 people, including 14 policemen, have been killed and hundreds injured in fierce clashes, forcing authorities to cut off mobile internet and enforce a nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.
What triggered the protest?
The protests began last month following a High Court order to restore 30 per cent job quotas for descendants of freedom fighters.
Nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education in Bangladesh with a population of 170 million. The students called for striking down a 30 per cent reservation quota for the families of freedom fighters.
Hasina’s refusal to meet the students’ demands, citing the ongoing court proceedings, escalated the situation.
Her comments, labelling those opposing the job quotas as ‘Razakars’, who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 War of Independence, prompted thousands of students to leave their dormitories at Dhaka University to protest last month.
Hasina’s remark further fuelled the tension which turned into deadly and widespread civil unrest across the nation, claiming over 120 lives.
Later, Bangladesh’s top court scaled back the controversial quota system for civil service job applicants, reducing its scope but stopping short of complete abolition.
What govt has to say
PM Sheikh Hasina said those protesting were not students but terrorists and urged people to “suppress them with a firm hand”.
Those engaging in sabotage in the name of protest across the country are not students but terrorists, she said, according to Prothom Alo newspaper.
Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs at Ganabhaban, the newspaper reported citing sources from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said. The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.