Bangladesh Protests: Death Toll Reaches 300 After 98 Killed in Latest Job Quota Unrest
In Bangladesh’s capital, security was heightened on Monday as soldiers and police patrolled key areas following renewed anti-government protests that left at least 98 dead. An indefinite curfew was imposed, mobile internet services were cut off, and roads to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s residence were blocked.
The latest violence has pushed the total death toll from the ongoing protests against job quotas to 300. These protests erupted after the Bangladesh High Court reinstated a quota system for public sector jobs, which had been abolished in 2018 but was reintroduced in June.
The Supreme Court overturned this reinstatement last month, ruling it illegal and reinstating merit-based job allocation.
The curfew, effective from Sunday night, includes Dhaka and other key areas. The government has declared a holiday until Wednesday, closed courts, and restricted mobile internet access. Prime Minister Hasina criticized the protesters as criminals and claimed the opposition and banned groups have hijacked the movement.
Over 11,000 people have been arrested, schools and universities are closed, and a shoot-on-sight order was briefly enforced.
