The streets of Dhaka became a battleground on Thursday as thousands of students clashed with armed police, escalating a wave of protests across Bangladesh. Authorities responded by partially cutting mobile internet services in an attempt to quell demonstrations opposing job quotas, which have claimed the lives of at least 32 people this week.
The unrest, marking the largest demonstrations since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent reelection, underscores widespread frustration among Bangladesh’s youth over high unemployment rates. Nearly a fifth of the country’s 170 million people are currently unemployed or not in education.
Protesters are specifically demanding an end to the government’s policy of reserving 30% of public sector jobs for descendants of individuals who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.
According to hospital reports, Thursday alone saw 25 additional fatalities, including a bus driver and three students, bringing the total death toll to 32. Hundreds more sustained injuries as police employed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds that had set fire to vehicles, police stations, and other establishments.
Law Minister Anisul Huq expressed the government’s readiness for dialogue with protesters, but their representatives rebuffed the offer, insisting that negotiations could not proceed amidst ongoing violence.
“We cannot trample over dead bodies to hold discussions. Discussions could have taken place earlier,” said protest coordinator Nahid Islam to the media.
Prime Minister Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has thus far refused to concede to protesters’ demands.
Earlier efforts to control the unrest included tear gas dispersals near a university campus in Dhaka, alongside selective cuts to mobile internet services. Similar confrontations occurred in Chittagong, where students blockaded a highway and clashed with police.
The US Embassy in Dhaka closed its doors on Thursday and advised American citizens to avoid large gatherings and demonstrations. A similar advisory was issued by the Indian embassy.
In response to escalating tensions, all public and private universities were indefinitely shut starting Wednesday, with riot police and paramilitary forces deployed to maintain order on campuses.
