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Agence France-Presse

Soldiers were out in force Saturday in cities around Bangladesh after another day of lethal clashes between student protesters and police prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to cancel foreign visits.
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.

The curfew will remain in effect until 10am (12pm Hong Kong time) on Sunday, private broadcaster Channel 24 reported.
Hasina had been due to leave the country on Sunday for a planned diplomatic tour but abandoned her plans after a week of escalating violence.
“She has cancelled her Spain and Brazil tours due to the prevailing situation,” Khan said.
Near-daily marches this month have called for an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Critics say the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups that back Hasina, 76, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.


The demonstrations – the biggest since Hasina was re-elected – have also been fuelled by high unemployment among young people, who make up nearly a fifth of a population of 170 million.
Hasina’s government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including by the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
Police fire was the cause of more than half of the deaths reported so far this week, based on descriptions given by hospital staff.
“The rising death toll is a shocking indictment of the absolute intolerance shown by the Bangladeshi authorities to protest and dissent,” Babu Ram Pant of Amnesty International said in a statement.
Authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown on Thursday which remains in effect, severely hampering communication in and out of Bangladesh.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Bangladesh

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina cancels foreign trips following deadly clashes

Smoke rises from burning vehicles in Dhaka after Bangladeshi protesters set them on fire near an office on July 18. Photo: TNS

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at a meeting at the PM’s residence in Dhaka on January 8. Photo: Reuters

Three die in fresh Bangladesh student protests amid telecoms disruptions: ‘it’s a war’

Protesters clash with the police in Dhaka. Photo: AFP

The nationwide protest has been fuelled by high unemployment among the youth, most of them out of education or work, who make up nearly a fifth of a population of 170 million. Photo: AFP

Protesters blocked roads at many places and threw bricks at security forces, local media reported. Photo: AFP

Security personnel walk past the headquarters of state broadcaster Bangladesh Television, after students set it on fire in the protest. Photo: AFP

Bangladesh student protests turn deadly as demonstrators bring nation to standstill

Police detains a man who was not leaving the University of Dhaka premises, a day after the clash between Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League, and anti-quota protesters, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 17, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Anti-quota supporters clash with police and Awami League supporters at the Rampura area in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 18. Photo: Reuters

Students protesting against quotas in government jobs offer prayers over symbolic coffins of victims, a day after they died in a clash with police personnel, during an absentee funeral prayer ceremony at Dhaka University on July 17. Photo: AFP

Students wearing headbands with Bangladesh’s national flag shout slogans during a protest at Dhaka University on July 17. Photo: AFP

Bangladeshi protesters demand end to civil service job quotas

Demonstrators shout slogans as they take part in a protest, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 4, demanding the cancellation of the quota system in government jobs. Photo: EPA-EFE

Students and job aspirants hold placards during a protest in Dhaka on July 4 against “discriminatory” quotas for government jobs. Photo: AFP

Students and job aspirants shout slogans during a protest in Dhaka on July 3. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

South Asia

Soldiers are enforcing a curfew in cities across Bangladesh as the death toll from this week’s violence rose to at least 105 people


Soldiers are enforcing a curfew in cities across Bangladesh as the death toll from this week’s violence rose to at least 105 people.
