Student protesters in Bangladesh defied a nationwide curfew on Monday and called for a march to the capital, Dhaka, to pressure Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign, after nearly 100 people were killed in deadly clashes in the country the previous day.
The country has been engulfed in protests and violence after student groups last month demanded the abolition of a controversial quota system for government jobs.
“The government has killed many students. It is time for a final decision,” protest coordinator Asif Mahmood said in a Facebook statement late on Sunday.
“Everyone is coming to Dhaka, especially from the surrounding areas. Come to Dhaka and take your stand on the streets.”
Violence erupted across the country on Sunday, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters, leaving at least 91 people dead and hundreds injured, according to Reuters.
Surrounded by dense, cheering crowds, protesters in Dhaka were seen waving Bangladeshi flags atop armoured vehicles as soldiers looked on, in social media videos on Sunday seen by AFP.
In some cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stop the protests, unlike rallies over the past month that have repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns, AFP reported.
Sunday’s death toll, which included at least 14 police officers, was the highest single-day death toll from protests in Bangladesh in recent years, surpassing the 67 deaths reported when students took to the streets against quotas on July 19.
A nationwide curfew was imposed from Sunday evening, trains were halted and the country’s huge garment industry was shut down.
The government imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew from 6pm (12 noon GMT) on Sunday and also announced a three-day general holiday starting from Monday.
The army asked everyone to abide by the night-time curfew rules. “The Bangladesh Army will carry out its committed mission in accordance with the Bangladesh Constitution and existing laws,” it said in a statement late Sunday.
“In this regard, the public is requested to observe the night curfew and provide full cooperation thereto,” the statement said.
The unrest is the biggest test of Hasina’s 20-year rule after she won a fourth consecutive term in elections earlier this year boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota system that would allocate more than half of all government jobs to certain groups.
Hasina’s critics and human rights groups have accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge she and her cabinet deny.
It was the second time the government had cut high-speed internet services during recent protests, mobile phone operators said, and social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were unavailable even on broadband connections.
Student groups began protesting in July, leading to violence that left at least 150 people dead and thousands injured.
The protests paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas, but students took to the streets sporadically last week to protest, demanding justice for the families of those killed and the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina.
“It is not students who are committing violence but terrorists who are trying to destabilise the country,” Prime Minister Hasina said.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse
