Curfew in Bangladesh, Military on Streets After 105 Die in Clashes

Post by : Dr. Amrinder Pal Singh

On Friday, Bangladesh announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces after police failed to quell days of deadly unrest spreading throughout the country. This week's clashes between student demonstrators and police have resulted in at least 105 deaths, according to an AFP count of victims reported by hospitals. The situation 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 to aid civilian authorities," Hasina's press secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan told AFP. He added that the curfew would take immediate effect.

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Police in Dhaka earlier banned all public gatherings for the day—a first since protests began—in an effort to prevent further violence. "We've banned all rallies, processions, and public gatherings in Dhaka today," police chief Habibur Rahman told AFP, citing the necessity of ensuring "public safety."

Despite this, confrontations between police and protesters continued around the sprawling megacity of 20 million people, even with an internet shutdown aimed at disrupting rally organization. "Our protest will continue," said Sarwar Tushar, a demonstrator in the capital who sustained minor injuries when police violently dispersed the march. "We want the immediate resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The government is responsible for the killings."

Student protesters stormed a jail in Narsingdi, central Bangladesh, freeing inmates before setting the facility on fire, according to a police officer who spoke anonymously. "I don't know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds," he added.

At least 52 people were killed in Dhaka on Friday, according to a list by Dhaka Medical College Hospital seen by AFP. More than half of the deaths this week were due to police fire, based on hospital staff reports.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk described the attacks on student protesters as "shocking and unacceptable." He called for "impartial, prompt, and exhaustive investigations" and accountability for those responsible.

The capital's police force reported that protesters had vandalized and carried out "destructive activities" on numerous police and government offices on Thursday, including the Dhaka headquarters of Bangladesh Television. The state broadcaster remains offline after students stormed and set fire to a building.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain told AFP that officers had arrested Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, a top leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Near-daily marches this month have called for an end to a quota system reserving more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Critics argue the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups supporting Hasina, who has ruled since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January in a vote without genuine opposition.

Hasina's government has been accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its power and stamp out dissent, including the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists. Her administration ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely this week as police efforts to control the situation intensified.

"This is an eruption of simmering discontent among the youth, built over years," said Ali Riaz, a politics professor at Illinois State University. "The job quotas became the symbol of a system rigged against them by the regime."

Students remain determined to continue protests despite Hasina's national address seeking to calm unrest, delivered earlier this week on the now-offline state broadcaster. Nearly half of Bangladesh's 64 districts reported clashes on Thursday, according to Independent Television.

London-based watchdog NetBlocks reported a "nation-scale" internet shutdown remained in effect a day after being imposed, with connectivity at 10% of ordinary levels. "This raises concerns over public safety as little news flows in or out of the country," NetBlocks stated on social media platform X.

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