Bangladesh protesters make defiant call for march on Dhaka

Tension is rising as protesters call for mass mobilisation in the face of deadly crackdown and national curfew.

Defying a deadly crackdown and national curfew, protesters in Bangladesh have called for a mass march on the capital Dhaka.

The student groups at the forefront of the protests urged a siege of the capital on Monday. The call rackets up the tension further following deadly violence on Sunday that saw close to 100 killed and the announcement of a national curfew.

Demonstrations that began last month over governmental job quotas have expanded into nationwide unrest amid a crackdown by authorities. Protesters are now demanding the resignation of long-term Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“This student-citizen uprising will continue until the fall of Sheikh Hasina,” protest coordinator Asif Mahmud said in a message on Facebook late on Sunday. “Tomorrow is the ‘March to Dhaka’. Travel to Dhaka now to witness history. Join the ultimate fight,” he said.

The violence has so far resulted in the deaths of nearly 300 people, and the tension was simmering in Dhaka on Monday, after authorities announced a nationwide curfew the previous evening.

Army tanks and police vehicles were on the streets and security forces patrolled on foot, an online news channel showed. There was almost no civilian traffic, barring a few motorcycles and three-wheel taxis.

Internet access was tightly restricted, offices were closed and more than 3,500 factories servicing Bangladesh’s economically vital garment industry were shut.

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman would address the nation at 2pm local time (08:00 GMT).

At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in a wave of violence