Army takes control after deadly unrest in Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Friday announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces as deadly clashes spread throughout the country.

Police failed to quell days of deadly unrest where at least 105 people, mostly students have been killed.

The students are protesting against a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.

Thought the protest remained peaceful until ruling Awami League’s student wing decided to attack the protestors. Since then, Hundreds of people, including the police, have suffered injuries.

This week’s clashes between student demonstrators and police have killed at least 105 people, according to an AFP count of victims reported by hospitals, and pose a momentous challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government after 15 years in office.

The protesters have called on the government to abolish the quota for being “discriminatory” against the students.

On Friday, 52 people were confirmed dead by the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Police fire was the cause of more than half of the deaths reported so far this week, based on descriptions given to AFP by hospital staff.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks on student protesters were “shocking and unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war regardless of their political affiliation.

She previously labelled those opposing the quota system as “razakar“, or volunteer, a term used for those who allegedly collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war.

Meanwhile, the Rights groups have accused the police of using brute force against the protesters after bullet injuries were found on the body of a 25-year-old university student this week.

Most of the channels in Bangladesh went off air on Friday after thousands of protesters stormed the headquarters of the state broadcaster BTV.

Backed by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the students have refused to back down.