Violent protests in Bangladesh, resulting in dozens of deaths
State of siege in Bangladesh. Around a hundred people have died in violent protests this week in Dhaka. People are unhappy because of a quota system for jobs in the public administration. Demonstrators set fire to the national television headquarters and illegally released hundreds of inmates from a prison. For five days, the police fired tear gas and threw grenades to disperse the protesters.
The new casualties Thursday would bring the overall toll to 25 dead since Monday when violence erupted at the prestigious Dhaka University in the capital. Violence pitting protesters against pro-government student groups and police soon spread to other cities. Six people had been reported killed on Tuesday, and hundreds more have been injured, AP reports.
Authorities did not immediately confirm figures for the deaths.
The protesters are demanding an end to a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.
Protesters attacked the head office of state-run Bangladesh Television, breaking through a main gate and setting vehicles and the reception area on fire, a news producer and a reporter told The Associated Press by phone. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Following the first deaths in this week’s violence on Tuesday, the government asked universities across the country to close in hopes of quelling the student unrest, and police raided the main opposition party’s headquarters.
