The communications blackout persists as the deadly crackdown on protesters continues in the country of 170 million people.
Bangladesh imposed a nationwide curfew to quell student-led demonstrations against government job quotas, with military and police patrolling the largely deserted streets of the capital, Dhaka.
Dozens of people have been killed this week and several thousand are believed to have been injured, Reuters news agency reported citing data from hospitals across the country. Dhaka Medical College Hospital received 27 bodies on Friday, it said, putting the death toll at 110 people.
Authorities said around 300 police officers were injured, blaming protesters for damaging public property and violence, and accusing opposition parties of instigating the unrest.
Soldiers set up checkpoints on Saturday, shortly after the government ordered a curfew to block protests – which have been further fueled by economic insecurity – which have escalated sharply this week.
The government has continued to impose a near-total internet shutdown since Thursday on the nation of 170 million people, amid a crackdown on student protesters. Text messaging services and telephone calls abroad remain interrupted.
The curfew was relaxed for two hours from noon on Saturday to allow people to buy supplies, said Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, who confirmed hearing gunshots in Dhaka.
“The public is anxious because people did not expect the army to be mobilized. But some people are also relieved because there is a lot of respect for the army in Bangladesh,” he said.
“But the atmosphere is somber because many people have died. People don’t understand why there was such a strong crackdown on student protests that were peaceful.”
There has been no official confirmation on when the curfew will be lifted, but it is expected to remain in place until at least early Sunday.
The protests have been going on for weeks, but there has been a sharp increase in violence over the past three days.
The demonstrations began, and were initially peaceful, after the High Court ordered, on June 5, the reinstatement of a quota that reserves 30 percent of public jobs for family members of veterans who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
But as the South Asian nation faces economic problems, including rising food prices and high unemployment, especially among young people, many ordinary citizens have joined the protests.
“There are many ordinary people who support students. There is a great degree of frustration in the country at the moment and many people do not accept this government and feel that the prime minister came to power by force,” said Al Jazeera’s Chowdhury.
The protests were the biggest to threaten Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government since her re-election to a fourth term earlier this year. She canceled planned trips to Spain and Brazil to deal with the fallout.
Following the crackdown, protesters demanded accountability before agreeing to meet with government representatives for talks. A state appeal to the Federal Supreme Court suspended the reinstatement of the quota for a month, pending a hearing on August 7.
Meanwhile, many leaders of opposition parties – who expressed support for the student protesters – were detained, along with activists and protest organizers.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced in a statement on Saturday that it has facilitated the return of around 1,000 Indian citizens from Bangladesh, and around 4,000 students staying at various universities are receiving consular assistance.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
