Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina cancels foreign trips following deadly clashes
- Soldiers are enforcing a curfew in cities across Bangladesh as the death toll from this week’s violence rose to at least 105 people
This week’s violence has killed at least 105 people so far, based on a count of victims reported by hospitals, and poses a significant challenge to Hasina’s autocratic government after 15 years in office.
A government curfew went into effect at midnight and Hasina’s office asked the military to deploy troops after police again failed to subdue mayhem.
“The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the military in aid of the civilian authorities,” Hasina’s press secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan said.
Streets of the capital Dhaka were almost deserted at daybreak, with troops on foot and in armoured personnel carriers patrolling the sprawling megacity of 20 million.
Several rickshaw drivers downtown who ignored the curfew were told by police to return home.
