Clashes between protesters and security forces have rocked Bangladesh, leaving at least 55 people dead and hundreds injured.
The violence erupted as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The protests, which began last month, have been fueled by anger over a controversial quota system that reserves 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court recently ordered that the quota be cut to 5 percent, but protesters are demanding its complete abolition.
As the situation spiralled out of control, the government declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 pm local time.
“Those who are protesting on the streets right now are not students, but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation. “I appeal to our countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a strong hand,” Hasina said after a national security panel meeting.
Internet services have also been shut down in an effort to prevent further unrest.
“You are requested to shut down all your 4G services until further notice, only 2G will be effective,” the Bangladeshi National Telecommunication Monitoring Center, a government intelligence agency, said in a statement.
This is the biggest challenge to Hasina’s government since she won a fourth consecutive term in January elections. The previous wave of violence in July saw nearly 200 deaths reported in just over a week.
Police stations and ruling party offices were targeted as violence rocked the country of 170 million people.
Twelve policemen were beaten to death in the north-western district of Sirajganj, police official Bijoy Bosak said.
Two construction workers were killed on their way to work and 30 injured in the central district of Munsiganj, during a three-way clash of protesters, police and ruling party activists, witnesses said.
“They were brought dead to the hospital with bullet wounds,” said Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, the superintendent of the district hospital.
Police said they had not fired any live bullets.
Bangladesh Imposes Curfew After 55 People Killed In Nationwide Protest is first published on The Whistler Newspaper