Bangladesh army imposes curfew as student protests escalate and death toll reaches at least 105

Bangladeshi soldiers patrolled the deserted streets of the capital Dhaka on Saturday during a curfew aimed at ending deadly student protests against government job quotas that have left at least 105 people dead this week.

Internet and SMS services have been blocked since Thursday, cutting Bangladesh off from the outside world while police crack down on protests that continue despite a ban on public gatherings.

Telephone calls abroad were mostly unsuccessful, the websites of Bangladesh-based media companies were not updated and their social media profiles remained inactive.

In addition to the dead, thousands were also injured in the clashes, according to data from hospitals across Bangladesh. Dhaka Medical College Hospital received 27 bodies between 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday.

For five days, police have used tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters as they clashed with security forces, threw bricks and set vehicles on fire.

The demonstrations – the largest since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took office for a fourth term this year – were also fuelled by high unemployment among young people, who make up nearly a fifth of the South Asian country’s 170 million population.

As the death toll continued to rise and police were unable to contain the protests, Hasina’s government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military.

Television stations reported that the curfew was relaxed for two hours starting Saturday afternoon to allow people to stock up on supplies and run other errands.

The unrest will continue until 10 a.m. on Sunday, when the government will assess the situation and decide on how to proceed, the reports said.

Television footage shows that those who ventured out onto the streets had their IDs checked by army personnel at various checkpoints.

The nationwide unrest was sparked by student anger over controversial quotas for public sector jobs, which included a 30 percent quota for the families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan.

Hasina’s government abolished the quota system in 2018, but a court reinstated it last month.

The state appealed the reinstatement and the Supreme Court stayed it for a month pending a hearing on August 7.

In the central Dhaka district of Narsingdi, protesters stormed a prison on Friday and freed more than 850 inmates before setting fire to the facility, television channels reported, citing police. Isolated arson attacks were also reported on Saturday.

Due to the protests, Hasina has abandoned her plans to travel to Spain and Brazil on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported, citing her spokeswoman.

Numerous opposition leaders, activists and protesting students have been arrested, said Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Police arrested Nahid Islam, one of the leading coordinators of the student protests, at 2 a.m. on Saturday, protesters said in a text message.

Reuters could not independently confirm the arrests.

International human rights groups have criticized the blocking of internet access and the actions of the security forces. The European Union has expressed deep concern about the violence and loss of life.