Nearly 100 dead as renewed anti-government protests rock Bangladesh, curfew imposed
- Bangladesh tightened a nationwide curfew and ordered a shutdown of mobile internet services to quell deadly protests
Nearly 100 people were killed and hundreds more injured Sunday as renewed anti-government protests swept across Bangladesh, with protesters calling for the prime minister to resign and the prime minister accusing them of “sabotage” and cutting off mobile internet in a bid to quell the unrest.
The country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, said at least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in the violence. The Channel 24 news outlet reported at least 85 deaths.
The military announced that a new curfew was in effect Sunday evening for an indefinite period, including in the capital, Dhaka, and other divisional and district headquarters. The government had earlier imposed a curfew with some exceptions in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Demonstrators are demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation following protests last month that began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs. Those demonstrations escalated into violence that left more than 200 dead.
As the renewed violence raged, Hasina said the protesters who engaged in “sabotage” and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and she said the people should deal with them with iron hands.
