Bangladesh TV news off air, communications widely disrupted as student protests spike

DHAKA — Television news channels in Bangladesh were off the air and telecommunications were widely disrupted on Friday (July 19) amid violent student protests against quotas for government jobs in which nearly two dozen people have been killed this week.

There was no immediate word from the government.

French news agency AFP reported that the death toll in Thursday's violence had risen to 32. Reuters had reported that 13 people were killed, adding to six dead earlier in the week, and could not immediately verify the higher number.

There was fresh violence in some parts of the country on Friday and police were using tear gas to disperse protesters, a Reuters photographer said.

India's Economic Times newspaper reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government "was forced" to call in the army late on Thursday to help "maintain order". Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Although the protests were sparked by student anger against the controversial quota system, some analysts have said that tough economic conditions, including high inflation, rising unemployment and depleting foreign reserves, were providing fuel to the fire.

The protests have also opened old and sensitive political faultlines between those who fought for Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, including Hasina's Awami League, and those who are accused of collaborating with Islamabad, after Hasina called the protesters "Razakar", as the collaborators were referred to.

Authorities had cut some mobile services on Thursday to try to quell the unrest but the disruption spread across the country on Friday morning, Reuters witnesses in Dhaka and New Delhi said.

Telephone calls from overseas were mostly not getting connected and