DHAKA,Bangladesh.20 July/DW/ – Bangladesh’s army on Saturday began enforcing a curfew meant to quell student-led protests, after at least 105 people were killed this week in the unrest.
The curfew will last until 10 a.m. local time (0400 UTC) on Sunday. The government said it will then assess the situation and decide the next course of action.
The measure was temporarily eased for two hours from midday to allow people to shop for groceries and supplies.
TV footage showed that people in the streets had their ID cards examined by soldiers at various checkpoints.
The French AFP news agency reported that one of its journalist saw police fire live rounds at protesters in the capital Dhaka on Sunday.
A suspension on internet and messaging services has remained in place since Thursday.
All gatherings were also banned on Friday, but there were continued clashes between protesters and police. Officers have fired tear gas and hurled sound grenades to disperse protesters.
On Friday, protesters stormed a jail and freed over 850 inmates before setting fire to the facility, TV channels cited police as saying.
What sparked the civil unrest in Bangladesh?
The unrest broke out after a court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, including 30% for the families of those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The protests were also fueled by high youth unemployment in the South Asian country.
Bangladesh’s government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had abolished the quota system in 2018. The state has appealed against the reinstatement of job quotas and the Supreme Court has suspended it for a month, with a hearing due for August 7.
Several opposition parties boycotted the election after the ruling Awami League rejected demands that a neutral caretaker government preside over it.
