Bangladesh imposes shutdown as death toll from student protests mounts

Communications blackout persists as deadly crackdown on demonstrators continues in the nation of 170 million.

Bangladesh enforced a nationwide curfew to quash student-led demonstrations against government job quotas with military personnel and police patrolling the largely deserted streets of the capital, Dhaka.

Dozens of people have been killed this week and several thousand are believed to have been injured, the Reuters news agency reported citing data from hospitals across the country. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital received 27 bodies on Friday, it said, as it put the death toll at 110 people.

The authorities have said about 300 police officers have been injured, blaming the protesters for damaging public property and violence, and accusing opposition parties of instigating the unrest.

Soldiers set up checkpoints on Saturday, shortly after the government ordered a curfew to block the protests – which have been further fuelled by economic insecurity – that sharply escalated this week.

The government continues to impose a near total internet blackout since Thursday on the nation of 170 million amid its crackdown on the student protesters. Text message services and overseas telephone calls remain disrupted.

The curfew was eased for two hours from noon on Saturday to allow people to shop for supplies, said Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, who confirmed hearing gunfire in Dhaka.

“The public is anxious as people didn’t expect the army to be deployed. But some people are also relieved because there is a great deal of respect for the army in Bangladesh,” he said.

“But the mood is just sombre because so many people died. People don’t understand why there was such a heavy crackdown on student protests that were peaceful.”

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