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At least 90 killed in Bangladesh as police fire on protesters demanding PM resignation-UPDATED

04 August 2024 23:40 (UTC +04:00)

At least 90 people were killed in Bangladesh on Sunday, amid worsening clashes between police and anti-government protesters, APA reports citing BBC.

The unrest comes as student leaders have declared a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down.

Thirteen police officers were killed when thousands of people attacked a police station in the district of Sirajganj, police said.

The student protest started with a demand to abolish quotas in civil service jobs last month, but has now turned into a wider anti-government movement.

A major crackdown by Bangladeshi security forces has resulted in the mass detention of almost 10,000 people, including opposition supporters and students, say media reports.

Some ex-military personnel, including former army chief General Karim Bhuiyan, have expressed support for student protesters.

He called on the government "to withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately" and said the group condemned the "egregious killings, torture, disappearances and mass arrests".

The next few days are seen as crucial for both camps.

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At least 72 people, including 14 policemen, were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in fierce clashes between protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and the ruling party supporters in different parts of Bangladesh on the first day of the non-cooperation movement over a government jobs quota system, APA reports citing Business Standard.

The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending the non-cooperation programme under the banner of the Students Against Discrimination with the one-point demand of the government's resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.

So far, 72 people have been killed in day-long clashes across the country, the leading Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo reported.

According to the police headquarters, 14 policemen have been killed across the country. Of them, 13 were killed in Sirajganj's Enayetpur police station. One person was killed in Comilla's Elliotganj, the paper said.

As violence escalated, the Home Ministry imposed an indefinite countrywide curfew from 6 pm on Sunday.

A government agency has ordered the shutdown of Meta platforms Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The mobile operators were ordered to shut down 4G mobile internet, the paper added.