Deadly anti-quota protests surge in Bangladesh amid nationwide internet disruption

More than 105 people reportedly killed in clashes between protesters and police

Smoke rises from burning vehicles after protesters set them on fire during an anti-quota protest in Dhaka on Thursday. AFP

A high-security alert has been issued in Bangladesh and a nationwide internet shutdown put into effect in the aftermath of the deadly violence amid student protests that have reportedly left more than 100 people dead.

The South Asian nation has this week been facing mass street protests over civil service job quotas that critics say are discriminatory.

On Friday, AFP reported that at least 105 people had been killed in clashes between protesters and police. The AFP tally was based on the number of casualties reported by hospitals.

The day before, thousands of protesters stormed state broadcaster Bangladesh Television and set fire to the building.

The demonstrators vandalised furniture and carried out “destructive activities” on numerous police and government offices, police said.

Tear gas and rubber bullets were reportedly used by officers as students blocked the streets.

“About 100 policemen were injured in the clashes yesterday,” Faruk Hossain, a spokesman for the capital's police force, told AFP. “Around 50 police booths were burnt”.

A government building that was set on fire in Dhaka. AFP

A near-total internet disruption was in effect in the capital, Dhaka, with phone lines also down on Friday.

Websites for the Bangladesh Home and Foreign Ministry, as well as newspapers such as the Dhaka Tribune were also not available, as seen by The National.

Tens of thousands of students in Dhaka and as many as 65 districts have been staging demonstrations for weeks, protesting against civil service job quotas for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

The street protests began in June after the Bangladesh high court reinstated the quota system, overturning a 2018 decision by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to scrap it.

Students argue that the reservation of 30 per cent of the highly sought-after jobs for relatives of veterans is discriminatory and have demanded that recruitment be based on merit.

They have also clashed with the student wing of Ms Hasina’s ruling party.

The country’s Supreme Court suspended the high court order and will hear the government’s challenge on August 7.

Demonstrators clash with police, members of the ruling party's student wing and Jubo League members in Dhaka on July 18, 2024. EPA

Critics say the reservation benefits children of pro-government groups that back Ms Hasina, 76, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fifth consecutive term in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Critics and political rivals have accused Ms Hasina of authoritarianism, human rights breaches, clampdowns on free speech and suppression of dissent.

She appeared on a local television channel Wednesday night, appealing for calm after days of violent protests.

Ms Hasina condemned protesters' deaths as “murder” but was unsuccessful in calming and quelling the protests.

The internet disruption has caused distress among citizens.

“It's been eight long hours since Bangladesh, a country of 170 million, has been out of communication with the rest of the world,” Sami, a Bangladeshi researcher based in the UK, wrote on X.

“The authorities in Bangladesh shut down the cellular network and internet service across the entire country following violent clashes between security forces and students.”