98 die in Bangladesh protests seeking Sheikh Hasina’s ouster

Dhaka, August 4
At least 98 persons, including 14 policemen, were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in fierce clashes between protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and the ruling party supporters in different parts of Bangladesh, forcing authorities to cut off mobile Internet and enforce a nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.

‘Avoid travel’: India issues advisory
The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday evening issued an advisory saying Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Bangladesh till further notice.

‘Suppress terrorists with firm hand’
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said those engaging in “sabotage” across the country in the name of protest were not students but terrorists and asked people to suppress them with a firm hand. “I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said.

The clashes broke out Sunday morning when protesters attending the non-cooperation programme under the banner of the Students Against Discrimination with the one-point demand of the government’s resignation over a job quota system faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League and Jubo League activists.
At least 98 persons had been killed in clashes, shootings and counter-chases across the country surrounding the non-cooperation programme, leading Bengali-language daily ‘Prothom Alo’ reported.
According to the police headquarters, 14 policemen had been killed across the country. Of them, 13 were killed in Sirajganj’s Enayetpur police station. One person was killed in Comilla’s Elliotganj, the paper said. More than 300 policemen were injured. The fresh round of clashes erupted days after over 200 people were killed in violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to the controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.
Today’s protests were joined by unidentified people and activists of right-wing Islami Shashontantra Andolon, which erected barricades on several major highways and within the capital city, officials said, adding that protesters attacked the police stations and boxes, ruling party offices and residences of their leaders and burnt several vehicles.
The situation prompted authorities to order a curfew in major cities and small towns across Bangladesh for an indefinite period from 6 pm on Sunday, mobilising troops, paramilitary border guards BGB, and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion alongside police.
The government ordered the shutdown of Meta platforms Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The mobile operators were ordered to shut down 4G mobile internet, the paper added.
Prime Minister Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs, the highest policy-making authority of national security, at Ganabhaban, the paper reported citing sources from the PMO. The government has announced a three-day general holiday on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure public safety amid the ongoing violence.
In a related development, a group of former senior military generals asked the government to withdraw the armed forces from the streets and send them back to barracks. “We urge the government to undertake political initiatives to resolve the crisis. Do not destroy the good standing of our armed forces by keeping them engaged in a disgraceful campaign,” said former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, who served under PM Hasina’s government.
Another former army chief, general Nuruddin Khan, who also served as the Energy Minister in Hasina’s past 1996-2001 tenure, joined the briefing along with fellow officers, some of them being 1971 Liberation War veterans.
“Time is ripe to immediately take the soldiers to barracks to prepare themselves for any eventuality as the time taken to transition from internal security mode to operational mode takes quite some time,” the statement read.
Several vehicles at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University were torched by unidentified people. People carrying sticks were seen vandalising private cars, ambulances, motorcycles and buses on the hospital premises, triggering fear among the patients, their attendants, doctors and staff.
In Chattogram, the residences of Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, as well as the office of AL MP Md Mohiuddin Bachchu were attacked. — PTI