Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured Sunday 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 75 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in the violence. Channel 24 reported at least 72 deaths. The military announced that a new curfew, including in the capital, Dhaka, was imposed Sunday evening indefinitely, the AP reports.
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.
Also Sunday, the government announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday. Courts were to be closed indefinitely. Mobile internet service was cut off, and Facebook and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, were inaccessible. The government said the services were severed to help prevent violence. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks, per the AP. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew. Protesters called for a "non-cooperation" effort, urging people not to pay taxes or utility bills and not to show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh.
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