Source: Bangladesh protests leave internet cut off, close to 100 dead
Nearly 100 people were killed and hundreds more injured as renewed anti-government protests swept across Bangladesh, with protesters calling for the prime minister to resign and the prime minister accusing them of “sabotage” and cutting off mobile internet in a bid to quell the unrest.
The country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, said at least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in the violence on Sunday. Channel 24 reported at least 85 deaths.
The military announced that a new curfew, including in the capital, Dhaka, and other divisional and district headquarters, was in effect Sunday evening for an indefinite period. The government had earlier imposed a curfew with some exceptions in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Demonstrators are demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation following protests last month that began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs. Those demonstrations escalated into violence that left more than 200 dead.
As the renewed violence raged, Hasina said the protesters who engaged in “sabotage” and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and she said the people should deal with them with iron hands.
The ruling Awami League party said the demand for Hasina’s resignation showed that the protests have been taken over by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami party.
孟加拉国新一轮反政府抗议活动席卷全国，造成近百人死亡、数百人受伤。抗议者要求总理辞职，总理指责他们“破坏活动”并切断移动互联网以平息骚乱。 该国主要孟加拉语日报《Prothom Alo》称，至少 95 人在周日的暴力事件中死亡，其中包括至少 14 名警察。 24 频道报道了至少 85 人死亡。 军方宣布，周日晚上无限期实施新的宵禁，包括在首都达卡以及其他分区和地区总部。政府早些时候在达卡和其他地方实施了宵禁，但有一些例外。 上个月的抗议活动始于学生要求结束政府工作配额制度，示威者要求总理谢赫·哈西娜辞职。这些示威活动升级为暴力事件，造成 200 多人死亡。 随着暴力事件重新肆虐，哈西娜表示，从事“破坏”和破坏的抗议者不再是学生，而是罪犯，她表示人民应该用铁腕对付他们。 执政的人民联盟党表示，要求哈西娜辞职的要求表明，抗议活动已被主要反对党孟加拉国民族主义党和现已被取缔的伊斯兰大会党接管。
