Bangladesh violence leaves scores dead, hundreds injured as protests continue

Protesters called for “non-cooperation,” urging people not to pay taxes and utility bills and not to show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh. Offices, banks and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities had trouble getting to work.

Protesters attacked the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, a major public hospital in Dhaka’s Shahbagh district, setting several vehicles on fire.

In Dhaka’s Uttara district, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people blocking a major highway. Protesters attacked homes and vandalized a social welfare office in the area, where hundreds of ruling party activists took up positions. Witnesses said several crude bombs were detonated and shots were heard.

Abu Hena, a hospital official in Munshiganj district near Dhaka, said two people were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital with injuries.

Jamuna TV reported 21 more deaths in 11 districts, including Bogura, Magura, Rangpur and Sirajganj, where protesters backed by the country’s main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, clashed with police and activists of the ruling Awami League and its affiliates.

The country’s leading Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo reported that at least 18 people had been killed in Sunday’s riots, with more reports of violence expected soon. Channel 24 reported at least 21 deaths.

Users complained about mobile internet outages on Sunday afternoon, and many others had problems accessing Facebook.

The protests began last month when students demanded an end to a quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence against Pakistan. As violence peaked, the country’s Supreme Court reduced the quota system to 5% of jobs, from 3% for relatives of veterans, but protests continued, demanding accountability for the violence, which demonstrators blame on the government’s use of excessive force.

The quota system also covers members of ethnic minorities and disabled and transgender people, whose limit in the ruling was reduced from 26% to 2%.

Hasina’s administration has blamed the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the now-banned right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party and their student wing for inciting the violence, which also saw several government facilities torched or vandalized.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the main opposition party, renewed his call for the government to step down to end the chaos.

Hasina had offered to talk to the student leaders on Saturday, but the coordinator refused and put forward a one-point demand for her resignation.

Hasina reiterated her promises to thoroughly investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. She said her door was open for talks and she was ready to sit down whenever protesters wanted.

The protests have posed a major challenge to Hasina, who has ruled the country for more than 15 years, returning to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in elections boycotted by her main opponents.