Bangladesh violence: Cops impose curfew, shoot-at-sight order in place

The curfew began at midnight and is set to relax from noon to 2 pm to allow people to buy essentials before being put back in place until 10 am Sunday

Dhaka: Police imposed a strict curfew across Bangladesh and military forces patrolled parts of the capital Saturday to quell further violence after days of clashes over the allocation of government jobs left several people dead and hundreds injured.

The curfew follows the deadliest day yet in the weeks of protests despite a ban on public gatherings. Reports vary on the number of people killed on Friday, with Somoy TV reporting 43. A reporter saw 23 bodies at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, but it was not immediately clear whether they all died on Friday.

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Another 22 people died on Thursday as protesting students attempted to impose a “complete shutdown” of the country. Several people were also killed Tuesday and Wednesday. The protests, which began weeks ago but escalated sharply when violence erupted Tuesday, represent the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office after elections in January that were boycotted by the main opposition groups.

Police and protesters clashed in the streets and at university campuses in Dhaka and other cities across the south Asian country. Authorities moved to block online communications by banning mobile and internet services. Some television news channels also went off the air, and the websites of most Bangladesh newspapers were not loading or were being updated.

Authorities could not be reached immediately to confirm figures for the overall deaths. The United States Embassy in Dhaka said Friday that reports indicated “hundreds to possibly thousands” were injured across Bangladesh. It said the situation was “extremely volatile.”

The curfew began at midnight and is set to relax from noon to 2 pm to allow people to buy essentials before being put back in place until 10 am Sunday. A “shoot-at-sight” order was also in place, giving security forces the authority to fire on mobs in extreme cases, said lawmaker Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party.

The chaos highlights cracks in Bangladesh’s governance and economy and the frustration of youths who lack good jobs upon graduation. The protesters are demanding an end to a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.

They argue the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and they want it replaced with a merit-based system.