At least 73 killed and hundreds injured in new protests in Bangladesh

This is shown by figures obtained by the Reuters news agency.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to try to disperse tens of thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It must also have been shot with sharp.

The authorities also introduced, for the first time since the unrest started last month, a curfew from 6pm on Sunday, and the internet has been shut down. Social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp are also not available.

There are reports of violence and deaths in a number of places in the country.

Violent clashes

Twelve policemen were beaten to death in the northwestern district of Sirajganj, according to Bijoy Bosak of the police.

At least eight people, including two students and a leader from the ruling party, were killed and dozens injured in violent clashes in several places in the capital Dhaka, police and witnesses say.

Two construction workers on their way to work were killed in the central district of Munsiganj, in a clash involving three parties – protesters, police and activists from the ruling party, according to witnesses. 30 are said to have been wounded here.

– They were brought dead to the hospital with gunshot wounds, says Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, senior physician at the region’s hospital.

Police said they had not fired live shots.

Many killed

Reuters has received information about those killed in a large number of districts and puts the total death toll at 73. Earlier, a police spokesman stated that at least 300 police officers were injured.

The unrest is the most widespread since Hasina was re-elected in January in an election boycotted by the opposition. The death toll since the protests took off in July is now approaching 300.

On Sunday, thousands of protesters blocked the country’s main roads, while the unrest spread to other parts of the country.

Demand Hasina’s resignation

– Those protesting in the streets right now are not students, but terrorists who are looking to destabilize the nation, Sheikh Hasina said after a meeting of the country’s security council on Sunday.

– Sheikh Hasina should not only resign, there should be a trial for murder, looting and corruption, said the head of the Students Against Discrimination organization Nahid Islam to a large crowd in Dhaka on Saturday.

The protests were initially directed against a quota system which meant that a large proportion of all public positions in the country were reserved for family members of those who fought in the war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. The country’s highest court has ruled that this system is illegal, but has not abolished it completely.