On Friday, Bangladesh announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces after police failed to quell days of deadly unrest that has spread throughout the country.
This week’s clashes between student demonstrators and police have killed at least 105 people, according to the count of victims reported by hospitals. The unrest poses a significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which has been in power for 15 years.
“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 informed. He added that the curfew would take immediate effect.
In an effort to forestall more violence, police in the capital Dhaka earlier banned all public gatherings for the day. “We’ve banned all rallies, processions, and public gatherings in Dhaka today,” police chief Habibur Rahman said, adding that the curfew move was necessary to ensure “public safety”.
Despite an internet shutdown aimed at frustrating the organization of rallies, confrontations between police and protesters continued around the sprawling megacity of 20 million people. Sarwar Tushar, who joined a march in the capital and sustained minor injuries when it was violently dispersed by police said, “Our protest will continue. We want the immediate resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The government is responsible for the killings.”
In the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi, student protesters stormed a jail, freed its inmates, and set the facility on fire, according to a police officer. “I don’t know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds,” he added.
At least 52 people were killed in the capital on Friday, according to a list drawn up by the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Police fire was the cause of more than half of the deaths reported this week.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk described the attacks on student protesters as “shocking and unacceptable.” He stated, “There must be impartial, prompt, and exhaustive investigations into these attacks, and those responsible held to account.”
The capital’s police force earlier reported that protesters had torched, vandalized, and carried out “destructive activities” on numerous police and government offices, including the Dhaka headquarters of state broadcaster Bangladesh Television. The broadcaster remains offline after hundreds of incensed students stormed the premises and set fire to a building.
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. Critics say the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups that back Hasina, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
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. This week, the administration ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely as police stepped up efforts to control the deteriorating law and order situation.
Despite Hasina’s attempts to calm the unrest with a national address earlier this week, students remain determined to press on with protests. Nearly half of Bangladesh’s 64 districts reported clashes on Thursday, according to broadcaster Independent Television.
London-based watchdog NetBlocks reported on Friday that a “nation-scale” internet shutdown remained in effect, raising concerns over public safety as little news flows in or out of the country.
