Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina cancels foreign trips following deadly clashes

This week’s violence has killed at least 105 people so far, based on a count of victims reported by hospitals, and poses a significant challenge to Hasina’s autocratic government after 15 years in office.

A government curfew went into effect at midnight and Hasina’s office asked the military to deploy troops after police again failed to subdue mayhem.

“The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the military in aid of the civilian authorities,” Hasina’s press secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan said.

Streets of the capital Dhaka were almost deserted at daybreak, with troops on foot and in armoured personnel carriers patrolling the sprawling megacity of 20 million.

Several rickshaw drivers downtown who ignored the curfew were told by police to return home.

The curfew will remain in effect until 10am (12pm Hong Kong time) on Sunday, private broadcaster Channel 24 reported.

Hasina had been due to leave the country on Sunday for a planned diplomatic tour but abandoned her plans after a week of escalating violence.

“She has cancelled her Spain and Brazil tours due to the prevailing situation,” Khan said.

Near-daily marches this month have called for an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

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

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Several students killed during protests against civil service job quotas in Bangladesh

The demonstrations – the biggest since Hasina was re-elected – have also been fuelled by high