4 August: After 91 people lost their lives in new clashes between demonstrators and supporters of the ruling Awami League, India has urged its citizens living in Bangladesh to stay in contact and be vigilant. Intense fights today also resulted in dozens of injuries.
Protests against the government jobs quota restarted today with calls for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. AFP, a news agency, said that among the dead were fourteen police officers.
CONTEXT
Recently, there were violent disputes between the police and demonstrators, primarily students, who demanded an end to the controversial quota system that allocated 30% of government positions for veterans’ heirs of those who participated in Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence. The violence claimed the lives of over 200 people.
The Home Ministry of Bangladesh has decided to implement an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. today. Prime Minister Hasina urged people to put a hard stop to those sabotaging Bangladesh in the name of protests, calling them terrorists rather than students.
The demonstrators have united in their demand for the resignation of the government and rejected Ms. Hasina’s offer for talks intended to stop the violence from getting worse.