On Sunday in Bangladesh, clashes resulted in at least seven deaths and dozens of injuries as police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
The violence, which led the government to suspend internet services, represents the most significant challenge to Hasina’s administration since the deadly protests following her re-election to a fourth term in January. The elections were boycotted by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
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Two construction workers were killed and 30 others were injured in Munsiganj, a central district, amid clashes involving protesters, police, and ruling party activists, according to witnesses. “They were brought dead to the hospital with bullet wounds,” stated Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, the superintendent of the district hospital. While police reported that they had not fired any bullets, the area became a battleground after improvised explosives were detonated.
Violence erupted across other parts of Bangladesh as protesters blocked major highways. In the northeastern district of Pabna, at least three people were killed and 50 injured in a clash between protesters and activists of Prime Minister Hasina’s ruling Awami League, according to witnesses.
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In the northern district of Bogura, two additional fatalities were reported due to the unrest, according to hospital officials. Additionally, a group attacked and vandalized the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in the capital, while student protesters initiated a non-cooperation campaign to demand the government’s resignation.
Last month, violence triggered by student-led protests against government job quotas resulted in at least 150 deaths, thousands of injuries, and around 10,000 arrests. Although the protests paused after the Supreme Court abolished most quotas, students resumed demonstrations last week, calling for justice for the victims’ families.
Critics and human rights organizations have accused Prime Minister Hasina’s government of using excessive force to suppress the protests, a claim the government denies. In response, the government shut down high-speed internet services, and mobile operators reported that social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp were inaccessible, even through broadband connections.
