Fatalities in the ongoing quota reform protests in Bangladesh have surged to at least 39, with 30 journalists and 104 police officers injured, as reported by AFP. Around 400 students have also been injured in the unrest. Hospital staff have indicated that police firing accounted for approximately two-thirds of the deaths.
The government has indefinitely shut down schools and colleges in response to the turmoil, and roads have been blockaded across half of Bangladesh’s 64 districts by both protesters and police forces.
Amidst an internet blackout and a clampdown on news coverage by the state, the police reported that protesters have vandalized and set fire to state broadcaster BTV, along with several government and police buildings. Journalists covering the protests have faced violence, with the tragic death of 17-year-old student and reporter Hasan Mehdi due to police brutality.
Despite Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s national address on the now-offline state broadcaster, which sought to calm the situation, students remain resolute in their campaign. They are demanding an apology and the rollback of the contentious job quota scheme.
The protests were sparked by a job quota system that reserves more than half of government jobs for specific groups, including children of veterans from the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Students are calling for removing these extensive quotas, a demand they successfully pressed against PM Hasina in 2018.