Bangladesh police fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse protesters, while authorities suspended mobile internet services as violent clashes that left six dead and hundreds injured this week continued unabated.<\/p>\n
Despite shops and offices being open in Dhaka, the capital, there were fewer buses on the streets, as a call for a nationwide shutdown from students demanding the abolition of a 30 percent reservation quota drew little response.<\/p>\n
Police resorted to tear gas to disperse stone-throwing students who had blocked a major highway in the southern port city of Chittagong. In response to the unrest, mobile services were halted across most of the South Asian country.<\/p>\n
\u201cMobile internet has been temporarily suspended due to various rumours and the unstable situation created on social media,\u201d Mr. Zunaid Palak, the junior information technology minister, told reporters. He assured that services would be restored once the situation returned to normal.<\/p>\n
The protests represent the first significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\u2019s government since she secured a fourth consecutive term in January’s election, which was boycotted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The unrest is fueled by high youth unemployment, with nearly 32 million young people out of work or education in a population of 170 million.<\/p>\n
Students are demanding the abolition of the 30 percent reservation quota for the families of freedom fighters. This issue is set to be addressed on August 7, when the Supreme Court will hear the government\u2019s appeal against a High Court verdict that ordered the reinstatement of the reservation for families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Hasina had asked students to remain patient until the court’s decision. However, the violence was ignited by nationwide clashes between thousands of protesters and members of the student wing of Hasina\u2019s ruling party, the Awami League. At least three students were among the six killed in Tuesday\u2019s clashes, according to police reports.<\/p>\n
The protests have intensified following Hasina’s refusal to meet the demonstrators’ demands. The students’ grievances are rooted in long-standing issues of job scarcity and perceived injustices in the government’s employment policies.<\/p>\n
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, along with the United Nations and the United States, have called on Bangladesh to ensure the protection of peaceful protesters from violence. They stress the importance of addressing the underlying causes of the unrest to prevent further escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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