Protests over a quota system for government jobs turned violent across the nation.
BenarNews staff
Bangladesh is experiencing its worst civil unrest in more than a decade as over 30 have died over the last three days including 25 on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse, as students launched protests against a discriminatory job quota system.
The anti-quota protesters have been facing off against security forces and groups aligned with the ruling Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A Facebook post from the state-run Bangladesh Television station in Dhaka appealed for help saying the facility was in flames and many people were locked inside.
“I escaped by leaping over the wall but some of my colleagues got stuck inside. The attackers entered the building and set furniture on fire,” a producer at the station told the Associated Press by phone.
Later, an official at the station told AFP that all had been evacuated from the building.
The student protests began last week after the High Court in June reinstated a quota that reserves 30% of civil service jobs for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war that resulted in Bangladesh’s independence.
On Thursday, the government said it was ready for immediate talks with the protesters.
An injured protester is rushed to hospital after a clash with police and Awami League supporters at the Rampura area in Dhaka A Bangladeshi protester is taken to a hospital in Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [Anik Rahman/Reuters] (Anik Rahman/REUTERS) A police officer is beaten by mob during a clash between anti-quota supporters, police and Awami League supporters at the Rampura area in Dhaka A mob beats a police officer during a protest in the Rampura area in Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters] (Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS) Police officers in an armored vehicle move in against protesters in the Malibagh area of Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] Protesters set a small fire on a road in the Rampura area of Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] Protesters gather near a burning building in Dhaka’s Merul Badda area, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh stand off against protesters in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] A Bangladesh police officer fires at protesters in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] A police helicopter flies above the ongoing protest in the Malibagh area of Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews] A man fires a handgun at protesters in Chittagong, Bangladesh, July 18, 2024. [BenarNews]
